Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The sudden decision by the Congress party to withdraw its candidate from the Talsara Assembly segment in Sundargarh has caused former Hockey India captain Prabodh Tirkey to cry. The experienced athlete was previously included by the party in its initial list of candidates, which was made public on April 2, as the nominee for the Talsara Assembly seat. In his place, the party has now fielded Devendra Bhitaria from the Talsara seat.
Tirkey was shocked to hear the news because he had been spending Sunday night in the constituency campaigning for the election. Speaking to reporters, Tirkey claimed he didn’t know why the party nominated a different candidate in lieu of him.
“I still don’t know why my ticket was cancelled by the party. I was campaigning when I came to know about the decision in the evening. If they were not interested then why did they give me the ticket in the first place. The cancellation of the candidature will affect my dignity and life,” said a teary-eyed Tirkey.
He went on to say that the party could have done extremely well in the constituency and that the people were pleased with his candidacy.
He remarked, “It is regrettable that the party high command was unable to determine the sentiment of the people in the constituency.”
The party has not yet made an official remark on the matter.
