BHUBANESWAR: With intense speculation in political circles over former Nabarangpur MP Pradeep Majhi joining the BJD in the next two days, the senior Congress leader dismissed it as a propaganda against him. There were talks in political circles over several dissatisfied Congress leaders joining the ruling party after the former Kotpad MLA did so on Wednesday. Besides, reports about the possibility of Majhi joining BJD are also doing the rounds for several months.
Sources said that though Majhi was not among the dissidents who wanted the ouster of president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Niranjan Patnaik, he was one of the aspirants for the post if the Congress high command wanted a change. “As that possibility has now receded, Majhi is waiting to switch over to BJD at an opportune moment”, a senior Congress leader said.
However, Majhi dismissed such speculation and said that he has been nominated to a committee on bypoll to Pipili Assembly constituency and will be working there from September 20. The OPCC president, on the other hand, said that those who want to leave the party can do so. On speculation of Majhi joining BJD, he said it will have no impact on Congress. He added that in the past many leaders have quit the Congress and joined other political parties.