BHUBANESWAR: Top Maoist Sabyasachi Panda 's wife Subhashree, alias Mili, joined Congress here on Monday."I think Congress is the right forum to fight for the cause of the poor, including women," Mili told the media.She had unsuccessfully contested the 2014 assembly election from Ranpur in Nayagarh district on an Ama Odisha Party (AOP) ticket. Her political journey came to a screeching halt after AOP founder Soumya Ranjan Patnaik joined BJD in March. Soumya, the younger brother of Congress state president Niranjan Patnaik, had floated AOP in 2013 after being expelled from Congress for anti-party activities. He is now BJD's Rajya Sabha member.Mili was arrested in January 2010 on charges of endorsing the activities of her husband, who has been in judicial custody since July 2014.Meanwhile, Manoja Manjari Debi of the erstwhile royal family of Nilagiri also joined Congress in the presence of Niranjan and AICC Odisha in-charge Jitendra Singh. The leaders of Congress's newly formed Pradesh Election Committee and campaign committee also held meetings on Monday. "We deliberated on the criteria for selection of candidates for the 2019 election. Winnability is the sole standard of selection. All 15 sitting MLAs will get tickets," Niranjan said.

Stay updated with all the Latest Bhubaneswar headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.