Saying he faced “humiliation” from the Congress, former captain of the India hockey team, Prabodh Tirkey, resigned from the party on Tuesday.
Tirkey, who joined the Congress last September after quitting his job at Air India, was named the party’s candidate from the Talsara Assembly seat, under Odisha’s Sundargarh Lok Sabha constituency, on April 2. However, when the party released its second list on April 14, Devendra Bhitaria had replaced Tirkey in the seat, which is reserved for candidates belonging to Scheduled Tribes.
Elections to the state legislature and Lok Sabha will be held simultaneously in Odisha over four phases – from May 13 to June 1.
“When I decided to quit my Air India job to join Congress, I was assured by the party that I will be given an MLA ticket. From the time I joined the party, I started doing groundwork in the constituency. I was very happy when my name was announced in the first list, but I don’t know what happened and why I was replaced,” Tirkey told The Indian Express.
“If the party had a different plan, they should have told me about it instead of humiliating an international hockey player and a tribal youth,” the 39-year-old said.
He said he broke down after his name was withdrawn and that despite multiple efforts, he could not get in touch with any senior Congress leader to ask them about why the party took that decision. “Neither did anyone contact me, nor could I get in touch with them. So, what is the point of remaining in the Grand Old Party?” Tirkey asked.
Congress sources said Tirkey was replaced as they felt Devendra Bhitaria, his replacement, had better prospects of winning. Bhitaria, a retired government employee, belongs to the Bhuyan community that has a significant presence in the constituency. Bhitaria’s family also has a Congress background.
Talsara had been known to be a Congress bastion, with the party winning the seat six times between 1995 and 2014. However, in the last Assembly election, the BJP’s Bhabani Shankar Bhoi won the seat, and the Congress came in third.
Prabodh Tirkey is a native of Lulkidihi village under Balisankara block, part of the Talsara Assembly constituency. He is the younger brother of Ignace Tirkey, also a former captain of the India hockey team. Prabodh made his international debut in 2000, and captained the India team that won the Asia Cup gold medal in Chennai in 2007.
He is the second big name in hockey — after Dilip Tirkey — to join politics in recent years. Dilip, who currently heads Hockey India, is the BJD’s pick for Sundargarh Lok Sabha constituency, under which Talsara falls.
Sundargarh is known to be a nursery of hockey talent, with more than 60 international players coming from the district.
