Nabarangpur/ Bhubaneswar: Former MP Pradeep Majhi, who quit Congress last week, is likely to attend an event in Odisha’s Nabarangpur on Sunday to show his strength.
Sources close to Majhi said that he will join the ruling BJD in Bhubaneswar either on October 28 or 29 taking into consideration the availability of party president Naveen Patnaik.
After weeks of speculation, Majhi quit the hand party on Friday. In his letter to Sonia Gandhi, he wrote that he wanted to serve people while being in Congress, but the grand old party lacked enthusiasm.
Around 1,000 workers of the party in Nabarangpur district are likely to follow suit.
While many saw it as a jolt to Congress ahead of the panchayat elections, senior party leaders here pooh-poohed his resignation. Accusing him of being overambitious, Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahintipati had said that he quit the hand party to avoid getting suspended. He further said that Majhi owes his political identity to Congress and had he enjoyed the public support, he would not have lost two consecutive elections.
Also Read: [Watch] Pradeep Majhi Overambitious, Resigned To Avoid Suspension
Majhi had represented Nabarangpur Lok Sabha seat from 2009 to 2014 and but had lost the 2014 and 2019 parliamentary polls to Balabhadra Majhi and Ramesh Majhi of BJD.
Senior Congress leader Suresh Routray added that the tribal leader left the party for selfish motives.
Rumours, however, have been doing the rounds for the past few weeks about Majhi eyeing a Rajya Sabha seat after allegedly being ignored by the AICC and talks are on with the ruling BJD over the same.
Also Read: Another Jolt For Odisha Congress! Pradeep Majhi May Join BJD Soon
It was earlier reported that Majhi would be joining the regional party with hundreds of his supporters at an event at Nabarangpur on October 24. A mandap was also booked for the joining event.
Also Read: Former Odisha MP Pradeep Majhi To Join BJD On October 24!
