MP: Veteran Congress MLA Ramniwas Rawat joins BJP
What's the story
A six-time MLA and former Congress minister Ramniwas Rawat has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh. The official induction took place at a public rally in Sheopur, attended by over a thousand supporters. High-profile BJP leaders present at the event included Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, state party head VD Sharma, and former home minister Narottam Mishra.
On Monday
Congress's Indore candidate withdraws nomination, joins BJP
This comes a day after the Congress's nominee for the Indore constituency withdrew his candidacy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The official announcement was made on Monday when Akshay Bam, accompanied by BJP MLA Ramesh Mendola, visited the district collector's office to formally retract his nomination. Following this, Bam joined the BJP—which was confirmed by senior party leader Kailash Vijayvargiya. Voting for the Indore parliamentary seat will take place in the fourth phase, on May 13.
Indore contest
Bam was fielded against incumbent BJP MP
The Congress had fielded Bam against the incumbent BJP MP of Indore Shankar Lalwani. The party had announced his candidature from Indore in March this year. "I thank the top leadership for giving me this opportunity. Victory and defeat are a part of politics, the most important thing is that people stand with you and people believe your words," Bam had said then.
On April 22
BJP wins unopposed from Surat Lok Sabha seat
This comes a week after the nomination form submitted by Congress leader Nilesh Kumbhani for the Surat Lok Sabha seat was invalidated. His three proposers had approached the district returning officer, stating that the signatures on the document were not theirs. The nomination form of Suresh Padsala—the Congress's alternative candidate for Surat—was also rejected for similar reasons. The eight other candidates from the seat had also withdrawn their nominations—paving the way for BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal to be elected uncontested.