Former Indian hockey team captain Prabod Tirkey resigned from the party on Tuesday, citing “humiliation” from the Congress.
Tirkey, who joined the Congress in September last year after quitting his job with Air India, was nominated as the party's candidate from the Tulsala assembly seat in Odisha's Sundergarh Lok Sabha constituency on April 2. However, when the party released its second list on April 14, Tirkey was replaced by Devendra Vitalia in the seat given to candidates belonging to Scheduled Tribes.
Elections to the state Assembly and Lok Sabha will be held simultaneously in Odisha in four phases from May 13 to June 1.
“When I decided to quit my Air India job to join the Congress, I was assured by the party that I would be given an MLA ticket. I started rooting in the constituency from the time I joined the party. I was very happy when my name was announced in the first list, but I don't know what happened or why I was replaced,'' Tirkey told The Indian Express.
“If the party had other plans, they should have told me about it instead of humiliating international hockey players and tribal youth,” the 39-year-old said.
He said he was heartbroken after his name was withdrawn and, despite repeated efforts, was unable to contact Congress leaders to ask why the party had taken the decision. Stated. “No one contacted me and I couldn't get in touch with them. So what's the point of remaining in the Grand Old Party?” Tilkey asked.
Congress officials said they decided to replace Tirkey with Devendra Vitalia because they believed he had a better chance of winning. Batalia, a former civil servant, belongs to the Buyan community, which has a large presence in the constituency. Vitalia's family also comes from Congress.
Tulsala was known as a Congress stronghold, with the party winning six seats between 1995 and 2014. However, in the last assembly elections, Bhavani Shankar Bhoi of the BJP won the seat and the Congress came third.
Mr. Prabod Tirki hails from Rulkidihi village in Barisankara block, which is part of Tulsala assembly constituency. He is the younger brother of Ignace Tirkey, who is also a former captain of the Indian hockey team. Prabod made his international debut in 2000 and captained the Indian team that won the Asia Cup gold medal in Chennai in 2007.
He is the second big name from the hockey world to join politics in recent years, after Dilip Tirkey. Mr. Dilip, who currently heads the Indian hockey department, is the BJD's choice for the Sundergarh Lok Sabha constituency, to which Mr. Tulsala falls.
Sundargarh is known as a hotbed of hockey talent, with over 60 international players hailing from the district.
