Surat Replay: Congress Loses Second Candidate Right Before Vote – Joins BJP

Akshay Bam, the Congress candidate in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, has withdrawn from the race and joined the BJP. The surprising development was announced by senior Madhya Pradesh BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya. He welcomed Bam to the BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party national president JP Nadda, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, and state president VD Sharma. Today was the deadline for nominations in Indore, which is scheduled to vote in the fourth phase of elections on May 13.

Three candidates, including Congress’ Bam, withdrew their nominations, which were videographed as part of the due procedure, according to District Collector Ashish Singh. Bam retracted his candidacy at the district collector’s office, accompanied by BJP MLA Ramesh Mendola. The Congress had chosen Bam, a political newcomer, to run against the incumbent BJP MP Shankar Lalwani in Indore. This decision came amid a series of defections from the Congress to the BJP in Madhya Pradesh.

In a separate episode in Gujarat’s Surat, the Congress suffered a setback when its candidate was disqualified and several others withdrew, leading to a BJP candidate being declared unopposed winner. In the aftermath, local Congress leaders in Indore expressed disappointment and questioned the leadership’s choice of Mr. Bam as the candidate. They voiced their concern over the decision, emphasizing that experienced party workers had been overlooked for someone like Bam. During the scrutiny of nominations, the BJP’s legal cell raised an objection to Bam’s nomination form, citing the omission of a section 307 of IPC related to an attempt to murder case in a 17-year-old land dispute.

However, poll officials overruled the objection and accepted his nomination. These political developments have sparked a new dynamic in the upcoming elections in both Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.