Bhubaneswar: In a big moral boost for the Congress in the state, ex-Lanjigarh MLA Shivaji Majhi rejoined the party on Sunday. Former Kandhamal MP Nakul Nayak also joined Congress.
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Senior Congress leader Bhakta Charan Das said Majhi’s return to Congress will be of help to the party in Lanjigarh for the panchayat polls. The party had suspended Majhi in 2011 in the wake of horse-trading charges against him after he along with another Congress MLA and a BJP legislator allegedly abstained during the 2010 Rajya Sabha elections, leading to the BJD winning all the three seats.
Welcoming the two leaders, president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Prasad Harichandan said the return of Majhi will strengthen the party organisation in Kalahandi district. His absence in the house during voting went in favour of BJD candidate Baishnab Parida. His suspension was revoked in January, 2014. “However, chose to return to Congress when I saw the attitude of BJP towards Dalits and tribals”, said Majhi.
Moreover, people have lost faith in the BJD government for its anti-Dalit and anti-tribal policies and Mr. Nayak’s entry into party fold would certainly give confidence to cadres in Kandhamal district, he said. But he later joined the BJP on March 9, 2015 after he was not given tickets to contest the Assembly elections. “But after realising the attitude of the BJP towards the dalits and tribals, I made a decision to return to Congress”, Majhi told media persons here. Nayak had been MP from Phulbani in 1989 on a Janata Dal ticket.
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“Both the BJD and the BJP have squarely failed in restoring normalcy in Kandhamal district till date”, he pointed out. He won as the MP from Kandhamal in 2009 on a Samajwadi Party ticket.
