Hyderabad: Former Odisha chief minister and nine-term Lok Sabha MP from tribal-dominated Koraput seat, Giridhar Gamang, joined the KCR-led BRS (Bharat Rashtra Smaithi) party on Friday.
Several other ex-MLAs also joined the BRS in the presence of Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao.
Giridhar on Wednesday resigned from the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), alleging that he faced ‘humiliation’ in the saffron party.
General Secretary, BJP State Yuva Morcha, Snehranjan Das, and Youth President and AICC Member, Koraput constituency Rabindra Mohapatra were among those who joined the BRS alongside Gamang.
Gridhar was accompanied by his son Sishir Gamang, who also quit the saffron party alleging that his father was not given adequate importance in the state unit of the BJP.
Gamang who met CM KCR on January 13, will likely be leading the BRS party in Odisha in the 2024 elections as its state president.
“I can tolerate insult, but not humiliation. Moreover, I was overlooked in the party,” Gamang told reporters on Wednesday, adding that he was quitting the party with a heavy heart.
The veteran tribal leader, however, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for their support.
Gamang was elected to Lok Sabha from the Koraput Lok Sabha seat from 1972 to 1998 and again in 2004.
He could not contest the 1999 polls as he was the Odisha chief minister then. His wife Hema Gamang had won the seat that year.
Giridhar had earlier quit the Congress party and joined the BJP in 2015.
In the resignation letter to BJP national president J P Nadda, Gamang said: “As you are aware, I joined the BJP voluntarily, at my free will, without any pre-condition in 2015. I am thankful to Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister and Shri Amit Shah, Home Minister, the then President of the Party for clarifying on the floor of the Parliament on my Voting in 1999.”
“However, I realised that I am unable to discharge my political, social and moral duty to my people in Odisha during the last several years. Hence, I tender my resignation from the primary membership of the BJP with immediate effect. Please accept the same,” the letter read.
Reacting to the development, BJP state president Samir Mohanty said, “He (Gamang) is a respected politician. He was never humiliated in the party. He was a member of the state executive as well as the highest core committee of the party. He had extensively campaigned for four days in Padampur bypoll. However, he is free to choose any party of his choice.” Senior BJP leader Dilip Mohanty said Gamang’s resignation will not affect the party’s electoral prospects
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