Former Odisha Chief Minister Giridhar Gamang on Friday announced his decision to join the BJP. His announcement came after met BJP president Amit Shah. The 72-year-old tribal leader from Odisha, who quit the Congress on May 30, said he has decided to join the BJP as he liked its political strategy. Incidentally, it was the controversial vote of Gamang during the 1999 No-Confidence Motion that had contributed to the fall of the then Vajpayee-led NDA Government.
Gamang, who met Shah for an hour, also interacted with Union Ministers Jual Oram, also a tribal leader from Odisha and Dharmendra Pradhan. “I have decided to join the BJP, but I will join formally soon. It will be decided by the State unit soon. I had met Amit Shah today and made my plea which has been accepted by the party leadership,” Gamang said after his meeting with Shah.
“BJP is a national party and now it has proved as an alternative to Congress. The way they are having their strategy in Indian democracy, I think this new concept of political strategy...I like it as it is not only to be in power but also to serve people,” he said. The inclusion of a tribal leader is part of BJP’s plan to strengthen its tribal base in Odisha and take on the BJD in the next Assembly elections slated in June 2019. Gamang was Chief Minister of Odisha for nine months in 1999 and has also been a former Union Minister. He was first elected to lok Sabha in 1972.