Kandhamal MP Pratyusha Rajeswari To Join Congress

Bhubaneswar: Kandhamal MP Pratyusha Rajeswari Singh, who had resigned from the primary membership of the BJD on Wednesday after being denied party ticket to contest the poll, is all set to join the Congress.

Confirming this, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik on Thursday informed the media that he had received a letter from Pratysha who has expressed her willingness to join the Congress. She is likely to formally join the party on March 23 or 24.

He, however, said that the party is yet to decide the constituency from where she would contest. “Since we have already announced our candidate for Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat, she might contest the Nayagarh assembly seat or any other constituency which will be decided after she joins the Congress,” Niranjan added.

Notably, Pratyusha had expressed her willingness to contest from Nayagarh assembly seat in a letter to the BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

After being denied ticket by BJD, the Kandhamal MP had been exploring options and decided to join the Congress as parleys with BJP did not make much headway, sources said.