Another Congress Leader Joins BJD Ahead Of Panchayat Polls In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Former MLA Prafulla Majhi, who was expelled from Congress earlier this week, joined the BJD on Friday.

The party joining event took place at the residence of BJD Rajya Sabha member Subash Singh at Unit-6 here. BJD organising secretary Pranab Prakash Das, MLAs Pratap Deo and Pritiranjan Ghadai and others welcomed Majhi to the Conch party.

Majhi said he was forced to quit Congress as it is on the decline and offered no freedom to its members. He praised BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and said his joining BJD would help him work better for the development of tribals in his region.

Majhi’s wife Tribeni and hundreds of his supporters also joined the BJD.

The three-time former legislator was expelled from Congress on Monday, a day after he told the media that he would join the ruling BJD in presence of party president in Bhubaneswar on December 10. He later sent his resignation to in-charge president of AICC Sonia Gandhi, stating that he felt neglected and humiliated in the party.

A doctor by profession, Majhi began his political career with bye-election to Talsara Assembly Constituency in Sundargarh district as the successor of his uncle-in-law Gajadhar Majhi in 2006. He was elected to Odisha Assembly on Congress ticket in the 2009 and 2014 elections.

He, however, lost to BJP candidate Bhabani Shankar Bhoi in the 2019 Assembly polls.

Majhi is the second Congress leader to shift allegiance to the Conch party ahead of the Panchayat polls scheduled for early next year.

Pradeep Majhi, former Congress MP from Nabarangpur, had joined the BJD on November 6 to become the third leader from the grand old party to join BJD from the undivided Koraput district. Former MLAs Chandrasekhar Majhi and Kailash Chandra Kulesika had earlier joined the Naveen Patnaik-led party.

Thousands of Congress workers have also quit Congress in recent months and embraced BJD.