After the Congress released its first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Odisha, two heavyweights of the party, former Chief Minister Giridhar Gamang and former MP Jayaram Pangi have not found a place in the list.
The two leaders, who hopped parties and recently made a homecoming, are reportedly left sullen after the first list.
Pangi first crossed over to the BJD, then the BJP before going to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). He again joined the Congress in December 2023.
Speculation was rife that Pangi was hopeful of a Congress ticket for the Pottangi Assembly seat in Koraput this time, but the party has given a ticket to Ramchandra Kadami instead.
The family of Giridhar Gamang was also let down. Giridhar along with his wife and former MP Hema Ganamg and son Sisir Gamang crossed over to the BJP before joining the BRS. Finally, they returned to the Congress.
Buzz was that Hema was aspiring for a ticket from the Gunupur Assembly seat, but the party fielded Satyajit Gamang in her place.
Similarly, Sisir who had contested on a BJP ticket in the 2019 elections in the Gunupur Assembly seat, was an aspirant for the Nabarangpur Lok Sabha seat where the Congress fielded veteran Bhujabal Majhi.
No comments were received from Gamang or Pangi.