Koraput: Hemabati Gamang , the former Congress MP from the Koraput Lok Sabha seat and wife of former chief minister Giridhar Gamang, is likely to return to the party before the general election.“There is a high possibility of me joining Congress. Talks are on but nothing has been finalised yet. However, things will be clear soon,” Hemabati told TOI over the phone from New Delhi on Tuesday.The former Parliamentarian is currently camping in the national capital to meet Congress leaders and seek their advice to find ways for a smooth return to the party. However, she is yet to meet either party president Rahul Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi. “I am yet to seek an appointment with them. Meanwhile, I am in talks with several senior leaders of the party,” she said.Hemabati said there was neither any pre-condition for her return to the party nor is she eyeing a party ticket for the general election. “I have no agenda to return to Congress. Whatever duty the party will give me, I will abide by it. Owing to differences with a few state-level leaders, I had left Congress in 2014,” she said.Hemabati, a resident of Antarjholi under Ramgaguda block in Rayagada district, had won the Koraput Lok Sabha seat in 1999 and the Gunupur assembly seat in 2004 on Congress tickets. After quitting the party in 2014, she had unsuccessfully contested the Laxmipur assembly seat in 2014 on a BJD ticket. She deserted the regional party in February 2018 after reportedly being sidelined by it.Her husband and son are in BJP now. “There is no question of me joining BJP. If I don’t join Congress, I will not join any other political party,” she said, dismissing reports that her family might pressurise her to join BJP. “There is no pressure from my family; I can take my own decision,” she added.

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