Madhya Pradesh: Six-time MLA joins BJP as Congress exodus continues
On Tuesday, Ramniwas Rawat, a former minister of Madhya Pradesh and six-time Congress MLA, left the party after thirty years and joined the BJP in the Sheopur district. At a polling place in his assembly constituency of Vijaypur in the Sheopur district—which is a part of the Morena Lok Sabha seat—he switched allegiance to the BJP.
One of the biggest shocks the ancient party has had in the last two months is said to have been the most recent switchover.
A day after contender for the Indore LS seat, Akshay Kanti Bam, withdrew his nomination papers and joined the BJP, Rawat, a sitting MLA and seasoned OBC politician, was welcomed into the BJP party fold by chief minister Mohan Yadav and state party chairman VD Sharma.
His entry into the Gwalior-Chambal area took on extra importance since it coincided with former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s speech at a polling place in the nearby Bhind-Datia SC seat.
Not only did Rawat make a huge mistake, however; at the same Vijaypur (Sheopur) rally, Morena’s mayor Sharda Solanki also joined the BJP on stage. With Solanki’s BJP membership, three of the five Congress mayors have joined the party during the election season: Vikram Ahake (Chhindwara), Jagat Bahadur Singh “Annu” (Jabalpur), and Sharda Solanki (Morena).
