Former Congress MLA from Koraput Krushna Chandra Sagaria joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Odisha here on Sunday.
Sagaria said he was willing to take on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the next Assembly elections.
"If Mayawati (BSP President) allows, I am prepared to contest against Patnaik from any Assembly constituency he contests in the upcoming polls," Sagaria said.
Sagaria joined the BSP in the presence of the party's Odisha in-charge Dharamveer Singh.
The tribal leader had resigned from the Assembly on November 6, 2018 citing failure to provide justice to Kunduli gang rape victim.
A minor Dalit girl was allegedly gang-raped on October 10, 2017. She committed suicide on January 22, 2018.
Sagaria along with former Union Minister Srikant Jena was expelled from the Congress on January 19 for indulging in anti-party activities.
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BSP state in-charge said the party would field candidates in every constituency of Odisha.
--IANS
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