ROURKELA: After being unceremoniously dumped by the Congress, former Indian hockey captain Prabodh Tirkey (39) has landed in the BJP camp to boost the morale of the already upbeat rank and file of the saffron party in tribal-dominated Sundargarh district.
On Thursday, Prabodh joined the BJP in presence of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the party’s state president Manmohan Samal and a host of senior leaders at the meeting venue of Home Minister Amit Shah in Sonepur. Prabodh’s induction ceremony took place just before Shah’s arrival.
In the run-up to the elections for Sundargarh Lok Sabha (LS) constituency and the seven Assembly seats under it on May 20, the former tribal star player in all likelihood would be the BJP’s minority face, especially to woo the decisive Christian voters.
A Catholic Christian, Prabodh returned to his native place Nuapada under Lulkidihi Mouza of Balishankara block in Talsara Assembly seat and joined Congress on September 4, 2023. After the Congress announced his candidature from Talsara on April 2, he even kicked off his election campaign. However, the Congress released another list of candidates on April 14 in which it replaced Prabodh with a lesser-known new entrant Debendra Bhitiria, leaving senior party leaders in shock and dismay.
Sources said with the BJP looking to woo the minority voters, it carefully read the developments and inducted Prabodh at the right time. On April 21 and 22, Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs John Barla toured the Assembly constituencies of Sundargarh having strategic presence of Christian voters and held several meetings with the church leaders. With the right representation, Prabodh could prove to be an asset for BJP in Sundargarh, they added.
A newbie in politics, Prabodh said, “I am happy and relaxed after joining the BJP. After being insulted by Congress, the BJP has given me respect. I left my job last year to join politics with a hope to serve the people and ensure development of Talsara Assembly constituency. The BJP is the right platform for me. Whatever responsibility is given to me, I will serve the party with dedication and sincerity.” He further said with the BJP’s vision of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Bikash, Sabka Biswas and Sabka Prayas’, he would be able to woo the Christian and other minority voters in favour of the saffron party.
Incidentally, the BJD too had the opportunity to get Prabodh in its side. But the ruling party ignored him as it was apparently in a dilemma over Prabodh’s use in the party. The BJD already has hockey legend Dilip Tirkey who is the party’s Sundargarh LS candidate. Dilip is also a Christian and hails from the same Balishankara block. BJP’s Sundargarh LS candidate Jual Oram said Prabodh’s entry in the saffron party negates the opposition’s plan of portraying the BJP as a demon in the eyes of minority people. The presence of Prabodh in BJP also deflates the BJD’s claim of getting all Christian votes in Sundargarh.