For quite some time now, speculations are rife that firebrand tribal leader and Birmitrapur MLA George Tirkey will join the Congress on September 19 in New Delhi leaving his maiden party, JMM.
Tirkey is not only known as a prominent tribal leader, but also a revolutionary and anti-eviction campaigner among the tribals. He has a special image among the tribal people here.
Though due to his popularity, he has managed to get elected as MLA from Biramitrapur Assembly constituency consecutively for last two terms on his own strength, but since last couple of months, speculations are rife over his future political affiliation.
It may be mentioned here that in the year 1995, leaving the job of SBI, Tirkey had contested for the first time on JMM ticket from Birmitrapur constituency, while the demand for a separate Jharkhand State was at its peak. S
ince then, he has never looked back to raise his voices for the cause of tribals. In 2000 election, he also was elected on JMM ticket for the second time.
Even in the first Zilla Parishad election in 1997, his party got overwhelming victory and formed ZP with the support of Congress. And later on, his party candidates won in all 11 wards of the Birmitrapur Municipality.
But his political career got a twist after formation of separate Jharkhand State in 2000 consisting 18 districts of Bihar where no area from Odisha was included and in course of time, due to his aggressive stand, he was arrested and put behind the bars for more than a month. Finally, before 2004 election, he left the JMM and joined the BJD.
There were talks in the political circle then that for avoiding further arrest and legal problem, he joined the BJD. But Tirkey had said that as there was no relevance of Jharkhand movement after the formation of a separate Jharkhand State, he left the JMM and joined the BJD to work for the tribals in a better manner. After joining the BJD, he became its district president and succeeded to rehabilitate his close aides in various positions.
But while in 2004 election, he was denied party ticket, he contested from the Birmitrapur Assembly seat and the Sundargarh lok Sabha seat independently and lost both. Despite this, the BJD had not taken any disciplinary action against him.
But his relationship with the BJD turned sour when he openly criticised the State Government on the Kalinga Nagar issue on January 2, 2006 where 14 agitating tribals were gunned down by the police and subsequently, he joined with the tribal agitators who disrupted the railway services for 36 hours on Howrah-Mumbai line due to economic blockade. Finally, he was suspended from the BJD and Tirkey formed his own George Sena.
In 2009, he won as MlA, Birmitrapur, as an Independent candidate. Besides expanding his activities to other parts of the State, Tirkey joined hands with activist Prafulla Samantra and former Union Minister Braja Kishore Tripathy and was involved in a campaign against anti-displacement. He fought for protecting the interest of farmers and implementing the PESA in scheduled areas. In 2013, Tirkey and Tripathy formed the Samata Kranti Party and he became its president. But in 2014 election, only he was elected from his party and a sole party MLA in the Assembly.
Tirkey has been involved in several campaigns for the tribals under the banner of Sundargarh Mulabasi Adivasi Surakshya Manch. Yet, he is facing more than two dozens of cases lodged in different police stations and many of his aides were also arrested.
Despite this he never scared to raise his voices for the cause of tribals vehemently.
He rejoined JMM with his hundreds of supporters in December, 2017 in Ranchi in presence of Sibu Soren.
Reacting to this decision Tirkey had said, “In the last 25 years of his political career, he did not find any of the political parties which could protect ‘jal, jangal and zameen’ of the tribal people, except Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) due to which he made up his mind to rejoin.”