Congress ex-MLA Jogesh Singh likely to join BJD today

BHUBANESWAR: The BJD could walk into a potential minefield as it looks set to induct

Jogesh Singh

, the former Congress legislator from Sundargarh, into the party fold on Wednesday, the day Congress president Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit the state for the second time within two weeks.


There has been protests from a section of BJD workers in Sundargarh against Singh joining the party. The party had recently drafted its Sundargarh in-charge Prashanta Nanda and senior party leader Pranab Prakash Das to try and convince local party leaders regarding Singh’s inclusion. But sources said it did not go as planned.

“Singh will join the party without any preconditions as he has accepted the leadership of our chief minister. There was some resentment among party workers apprehending that Singh may be the BJD candidate for Sundargarh assembly segment. We have told them that the decision is up to the BJD president,” Nanda said.

Singh, who recently resigned from the Congress and the state assembly a day after he was suspended for anti-party activities, is likely to join the BJD at an impressive show at party headquarters in Bhubaneswar in the presence of chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

With the induction of the two-time Congress legislator, the BJD wants to make its debut in the tribal-dominated assembly segment but it may not be a cakewalk in the face of opposition from within the party. This could also prevent the party from fielding Singh as its candidate in the 2019 elections, a source close to BJD said.

However, his popularity among voters could be an asset for BJD. “Going by Singh’s popularity among voters in his constituency, he will be an asset for our party during the elections. If BJD retains power, Singh could be given a better posting,” said a BJD leader.

Singh had defeated BJD’s Sunil Kumar Singh Deo by 20,930 votes in the 2009 assembly poll and the ruling party’s Kusum Tete in 2014 by 12,584 votes.

Given that the BJD lacks organizational strength in the western part of the state, it is looking for potential candidates from other parties to win the maximum number of seats from around the 38 to 40 on offer in the region. Earlier, the BJD had inducted former Congress working president and ex-Jharsuguda MLA Naba Das.