Days after his MLA wife Geeta Koda picked up the Congress to be her next political home Madhu Koda also followed suit on Thursday. Madhu Koda, who had enjoyed near two year stint as chief minister despite his being an Independent MLA thanks to the Congress during 2006-08, also decided to merge his ‘kitchen’ political outfit- ‘Jai Bharat Samaanta Party’ into the national party headed by Nehru-Gandhi family’s scion Rahul Gandhi.
Koda, who is facing charges of massive corruption taken place during his tenure in the State and had also been convicted and sentenced for three years by a Special CBI court in a case related to coal scam, held the ‘hand’ in the presence of Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ajoy Kumar.
The party had organised a workers’ conference at Chaibasa for the merger where Madhu Koda in the presence of hundreds of his supports took oath as a Congressman. Misses Koda, who is presently representing Jagannathpur Assembly constituency in the House, was present there on the occasion.
Koda during the changeover minced no word to praise the Congress and leadership of Rahul Gandhi while denouncing the policies of the incumbent BJP, both at the Center and the State. “All the policies of the BJP are anti-poor and anti-tribal. This is right time to uproot the BJP from Jharkhand and the country,” said Madhu Koda briefly.
Earlier when Geeta Koda had joined the party in the presence of Rahul Gandhi along with Congress State in-charge RPN Singh and others in Delhi it was decided that she would be contesting the next Lok Sabha polls from Chaibasa constituency in 2019.
“In the case of Madhu Koda nothing of that sort has been promised as of now. His induction into the Congress was importance since it would not have been proper that he can continue with his own politics and his wife is into the Congress at the same time. This is more metaphorical a step,” said a senior Congress leader admitting that talks had taken place with the couple on this lime some time ago.
It is also learnt that the party leadership in Delhi wanted to keep Madhu Koda’s entry a low key affair probably due to his tainted image and cases of corruption pending against him. That is why a different occasion, faces and place than of his wife were chosen for his entry into the Congress.