Former India hockey captain Prabodh Tirkey has joined the Congress party in Odisha. He expressed his interest in running for the Assembly elections from the Talsara constituency, which is in the tribal-dominated Sundargarh district. Prabodh was officially inducted into the party at the Odisha unit headquarters, in the presence of party president Sarat Pattanayak, State in-charge A Chella Kumar, and other senior leaders.
Prabodh stated that he decided to join the Congress because he was deeply influenced by the work of Rahul Gandhi, and his family has a long association with the party. He also highlighted that the people in Talsara area are neglected and that the tribals do not receive any benefits from government schemes.
Tirkey has had a successful career in hockey, starting with his debut in the Junior Asia Cup in 2000. He went on to become the national captain of sub-junior, junior, and India-A teams before finally leading the India senior team.
