BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya with Congress nominee from Madhya Pradesh's Indore Lok Sabha constituency— Akshay Kanti Bam.
Credit: X/@KailashOnline
Gwalior/Bhopal: In a major setback to the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, the party’s official candidate from the Indore Lok Sabha seat, Akshay Kanti Bam, dropped out of the race and withdrew his nomination on Monday ahead of the May 13 polling.
Bam was escorted by senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya and BJP MLA Ramesh Mondela to the office of the electoral officer to withdraw his candidature. Monday was the last day for withdrawing nominations for the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
Bam joined the BJP amid tight security, fearing Congress supporters’ backlash. He was welcomed into the BJP by Vijayvargiya, who orchestrated the move. With Bam’s defection, the BJP’s Indore candidate Shankar Lalwani is set to have a cakewalk with no opposition. Reportedly, 19 Independent candidates are still in the fray.
Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari accused the BJP of intimidation tactics. He alleged the BJP was using a land dispute case against Bam to intimidate him after a court framed additional charges under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC. Patwari charged that Bam was tortured and harassed through Sunday night.
Welcoming Bam, CM Mohan Yadav said the Congress has lost connection with the people. Former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said several leaders are leaving 'a sinking ship'.
Last week, in another jolt to the Congress, the BJP won the Surat seat in Gujarat after the nomination form of the Congress’ candidate was rejected over discrepancies and other contestants opted out of the race.
Days before he joined the BJP, Bam said the Indore seat had a history of throwing up surprises. “Be it Kalyan Jain in 1977 or Sumitra Mahajan in 1989, there have been surprises in Indore. The city has given a chance to new faces to raise its voice in Parliament,” Bam told DH earlier this week.
Ironically, both Jain and Mahajan had defeated Congress leaders.
Hailing from a family close to the Congress, Bam had taken up the challenge of taking on the BJP in a seat it had not lost since 1989.