Kandhamal MP Pratyusha Rajeswari Singh will join the opposition Congress, the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik said on Thursday.
Ms. Singh had resigned from Biju Janata Dal on Wednesday after being denied a party ticket to contest from the seat.
“I have received a letter from Pratysha who has expressed her willingness to join the Congress. She is likely to formally join the party on March 23 or 24,” Mr. Patnaik said.
Mr. Patnaik said the party is yet to decide from where she would contest.
“Since we have already announced our candidate from Kandhamal, she might contest from Nayagarh Assembly seat or any other constituency which will be decided after she joins the Congress,” Mr. Patnaik said.
Earlier, Ms. Singh had expressed her willingness to contest from Nayagarh Assembly seat in a letter to the BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Apart from Ms. Singh, two other BJD MPs — Arka Keshari Deo (Kalahandi) and Balabhadra Majhi (Nabarangpur) had resigned from the BJD protesting denial of ticket. While Mr. Majhi has joined the BJP, Mr. Deo was yet to decide on his next course of action.
