Former Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das on Friday rejoined the Bharatiya Janata Party and asserted the party will return to power in Jharkhand. He had previously resigned from his position as the governor of Odisha on December 24 to re-enter active politics, following the party's defeat in the assembly elections, where it was unable to unseat the JNM-led coalition from power in the state.

Das was given a warm welcome at the BJP's state headquarters in the presence of the party's state unit president Babulal Marandi, working president Ravindra Rai, Union minister Sanjay Seth, and hundreds of supporters. Speaking on the occasion, Das said that he was happy to take the membership of the party for the second time since 1980 and he would serve the people.

He had to quit the party after assuming the position of the Odisha governor in 2023. "In the 2024 assembly polls, all party members, right from the state president to booth level workers, made their honest effort but we did not get the desired results. We should not be disheartened by the results. We will come back soon," Das said.

State BJP President Babulal administered party membership to Das. After coming back to the BJP fold, it feels like being in the lap of the mother, he said.

Addressing the gathering after joining the party, Das vowed to come back soon into power. “We could not get the expected results in the recent Assembly elections in Jharkhand, but we need not be desperate of disappointed, we will have to fight back, we will to struggle and win back once again, and we will come back soon,” said Das. This day is historical day for me as I am taking BJPs members for the second time after 1980, he added.

Das warned the JMM-led government that the party will wait for six months and keep a watch on whether the government has fulfilled the promises made to the people or not. If they fail to fulfill their promises, the party will consider it an insult to the mandate and will launch a movement on the streets in order to establish a strong government in the state, he said.

He expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, party President Nadda, and state President Babulal Marandi for supporting his return to the BJP fold.

The membership ceremony, held at the BJP’s state headquarters, saw the presence of prominent leaders, including state BJP chief Marandi, Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, state Executive President Ravindra Ray, Regional Organisation Minister Nagendra, MPs Manish Jaiswal, Kalicharan Singh, Aditya Sahu, former Leader of the Opposition Amar Bauri, and numerous MLAs and state leaders.