New Delhi : In a major boost to the Congress party in Odisha, former union minister Srikant Kumar Jena today joined the party in presence of the AICC in-charge for Odisha Ajoy Kumar.

Welcoming him back into the party fold, Dr Ajoy Kumar said, all the misunderstandings had been removed. He said Jena’s absence was felt very much in the Congress party, as his return will boost the party’s prospects in the State ahead of the General Elections.

He disclosed that Jena had met the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and the general secretary in-charge Organisation KC Venugopal before finally deciding to rejoin the party.

Thanking the party leadership for inducting him back in the Congress, Srikant Jena said, he had always been a Congressman right from his student days. He said, all the misgivings and misunderstandings had been removed and he was feeling happy to return to the Congress party.

The former union minister expressed confidence that the Congress party will emerge stronger in Odisha despite the “unholy” alliance of the ruling Biju Janata Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party. He observed that while their formal alliance was likely to take place soon, there was already an unwritten alliance between the two.

He appreciated the former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s mission for seeking social and economic justice for the people by moving across the length and breadth of the country.