Outgoing Congress MLA Chintamani Maharaj, denied ticket for the next month’s Assembly elections, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday.

He is the third legislator from the ruling party who has turned rebel after being not re-nominated.

Maharaj joined the saffron party in the presence of the BJP state in-charge Om Mathur and state General Secretary Pavan Sai at a function in Ambikapur in Surguja district.

“It is a ‘ghar wapsi’ (home coming) of Chintamani Maharaj. There would have been some issues earlier, so he had left (BJP). Today we are very happy that our former worker who established the party in the region has returned,” Mathur told reporters.

Maharaj left the BJP and joined the Congress ahead of the 2013 Assembly polls.

Asked if he will be fielded by the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, Mathur said: “Wait for it.”

Maharaj was elected from Samri in Balrampur district in 2018 but the Congress gave ticket to Vijay Paikra from the constituency this time.

The BJP has fielded Udeshwari Paikra, a Zila panchayat member, from Samri.

Maharaj won from Lundra seat on a Congress ticket in 2013, becoming an MLA for the first time.

In 2018, the Congress fielded him from Samri where he defeated the BJP’s Siddhnath Paikra by 21,923 votes.

Maharaj is the son of social worker and religious leader late Sant Rameshwar Gahira Guru, who had considerable influence in north Chhattisgarh, particularly in tribal communities.

The two other Congress MLAs who have turned rebel after being denied ticket are Anoop Nag and Kismat Lal Nand.

Nag was expelled from the party after he decided to contest as an independent from Antagarh.

Nand joined the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) and is contesting on its ticket from Saraipali, his existing constituency.

Polling for the 90-member Chhattisgarh assembly will be held on November 7 and 17.