Bhubaneswar: Former Indian hockey captain Prabodh Tirkey, who had resigned from the Congress party recently, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at a function in Sonepur today.
Tirkey joined the saffron fold in the presence of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, state BJP President Manmohan Samal, Balangir MP Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo, Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra, and other senior party leaders.
It is to be noted here that Tirkey tendered his resignation from the grand old party on April 20, 2024 saying that he was disrespected and humiliated by the party after it withdrew his candidature from the Talsara assembly seat without informing him the reason behind it.
Debendra Bhitaria was nominated in Prabodh Tirkey’s place to contest the upcoming Assembly elections which will be held in the State along with the Lok Sabha elections.
The former hockey star had begun his political journey by joining the Congress party on September 4, 2023.
Ms Kalinga