BHUBANESWAR: With 54 per cent of ST population of Odisha residing in undivided Koraput, veteran tribal leader and former chief minister Giridhar Gamang holds a significant place in southern Odisha politics.Though Gamang last won in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket, his family including his wife Hema and son Sishir still have pockets of influence in the region. Hema is a former Lok Sabha MP from Koraput and represented the Gunupur Assembly seat for Congress. While the senior Gamang, a nine time MP from Koraput had joined BJP in 2015 along with Sishir, Hema had joined BJD in 2014 to quit the party in 2018.
Pangi, another tribal leader from Koraput, however, is a known anti-Congress politician from the region. His rivalry with the Gamang family is well known and he had defeated Gamang senior in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections on a BJD ticket.
He had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket. Pangi was a minister of state in the Biju Patnaik government from 1990 to 1995. Nabin Nanda is a prominent political figure from Dhenkanal district.
He was elected from Gondia Assembly seat on a BJD ticket in 2000 and from Dhenkanal on a NCP ticket in 2009 elections. Besides, several former MLAs including cutting across BJD, BJP and Congress Ramachandra Hansda, Brundaban Majhi, Ratha Das, Bhagirathi Sethi, Mayadhar Jena and Raghab Sethi also joined BRS on Friday. Farmer leader and convenor of Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan Akshay Kumar joined the party along with his supporters.