Former Odisha chief minister Giridhar Gamang and his son Sishir Gamang joined the Bharat Rashtra Samiti, led by Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao in Hyderabad.

The Gamang father-son on Wednesday resigned from the BJP, alleging humiliation by the saffron party.

Along with Gamang, scores of leaders, including former BJD MP Jayaram Pangi who had switched to the BJP, a section of leaders from the Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan (NKYS), joined the BRS in Hyderabad. Besides more than 100 functionaries at the block level from the Congress, BJP, and other parties, mostly followers of Gamang and Pangi, workers at the district level, too, joined the BRS.

With this, the BRS made its first foray into a southern state. The party is likely to make an impact on the eight districts of Odisha, particularly in 20 Assembly seats, where the majority of the people speak Telugu.

Gamang, 81, a nine-time MP, would lead the BRS in Odisha in the 2024 general elections. The BRS plans to put up candidates in the coming elections — both in the 147 Assembly and 21 Lok Sabha seats.

After joining the party, Gamang said: “We have a road map for the coming election.”

Gamang who snapped his decade-old relations with Congress in 2015 and switched his loyalties to the BJP, had thought that the party would project him as its tribal face in Odisha. He used to attend all the meetings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Odisha with the hope that he would get a decent position in the party. But nothing of the sort happened and he was feeling marginalised.

His son Sisir, who had hoped that his father’s clout would help him rise in politics, also failed to make his mark in the political arena. “We will put candidates in all the seats. We will be fighting to win elections and form the government,” said Sisir.

Secretary of the NKYS, Seshadeb Nanda, said: “Both the BJP and the BJD are hand in glove. The Congress is not in a position to give fight. The BRS can emerge as an alternative to the BJD and BJP.”

Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Sarat Kumar Pattanayak said: “I appeal to all to come back to the parent party rather than living as a tenant.”

Senior Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati said: “The Congress has given a lot to Gamang and made him the chief minister. He had forgotten everything when he switched to the BJP. His joining in the BRS would have no impact on the party’s base in southern Odisha.”

State BJP general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan said: “Gamang’s exit will have no impact on the BJP’s base in Odisha.”