Former Indian men’s hockey team captain Prabodh Tirkey on Monday joined the Congress party in Odisha ahead of the forthcoming assembly and Lok Sabha polls, expressing his desire to contest elections from Talsara constituency in a tribal-dominated district of the state.
Tirkey joined the party at a function at the Congress party’s state headquarters in Bhubaneswar attended by Odisha pradesh Congress committee (OPCC) president Sarat Pattanayak and state in-charge A Chella Kumar.
Deeply influenced by Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, Tirkey said, adding he is ready to contest the contest the next assembly elections from the Talsara constituency in the tribal-dominated Sundargarh district.
The former national hockey team captain said the people of Talsara are ‘neglected’ adding that “tribals do not get any benefit from government schemes”.
Talsara, a Congress stronghold for more than two decades, was wrested by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the last state election.
Pattanayak, OPCC president, welcomed Tirkey’s decision to join the Congress.
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Born on October 6, 1984, the 39-year-old Tirkey made his debut at the Junior Asia Cup hockey tournament in 2000. He was the national captain of sub-junior, junior and India-A teams before taking over the captain’s mantle for the national hockey team. Tirkey was part of the team, which won the 2007 Asia Cup in Chennai.
{{/usCountry}}Born on October 6, 1984, the 39-year-old Tirkey made his debut at the Junior Asia Cup hockey tournament in 2000. He was the national captain of sub-junior, junior and India-A teams before taking over the captain’s mantle for the national hockey team. Tirkey was part of the team, which won the 2007 Asia Cup in Chennai.
{{/usCountry}}His younger brother Ignace Tirkey led India to title in the Sub-Junior Asia Cup and figured in the Junior Asia Cup, in 2000. His last international appearance was in 2010 Asian Games.
Before Tirkey, former Indian men’s hockey team captain Dilip Tirkey (no relation) was the first hockey player in Odisha to join politics. Tirkey joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in 2012 and was made Rajya Sabha MP on BJD ticket between 2012 and 2018. He unsuccessfully contested against former union minister and BJP leader Jual Oram in 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Sundargarh Lok sabha seat.