Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s brother-in-law Sanjay Singh joined the Congress on Saturday, just weeks before the state goes to polls on November 28. The move, which the Congress said was a major setback for the BJP, comes a day after a former Congress MP switched sides to join the BJP.
Sanjay Singh is the brother of Shivraj Chouhan’s wife Sadhna Singh. He joined the Congress in the presence of former union minister and Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath and the state’s campaign committee chairman Jyotiraditya Scindia .
“Madhya Pradesh needs Nath not Shivraj, who has been chief minister for 13 years,” Sanjay told reporters in New Delhi.
Seemingly upset over the ticket distribution for the assembly elections, Singh alleged that the BJP was now shifting to the dynasty politics. “The tickets were given to naamdars – sons and daughters of big leaders – while kaamdars who worked day and night for the party were completely ignored,” he said.
Sources in the BJP said Sanjay Singh, who has done bit roles in Bollywood, wanted a BJP ticket from MP’s Balaghat district adjacent to Gondia, his native place where he holds significant clout.
“We have given a fitting reply. They were boasting after former Congress MP Premchand Guddu joined BJP yesterday. Now it will be fight between the two Mamas,” said MP Congress spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta.
BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal, however, played down the defection. “The Congress might feel happy, but it will have no impact on the party. It might be news for the media, it is not for us,” he said adding that Singh has no political background.
On Friday, the BJP released its first list of 177 candidates for the single-phase poll on November 28, dropping three ministers, including Urban Development Minister Maya Singh, from the list.
Besides Maya Singh, the party has denied ticket to Forest Minister Gauri Shankar Shejwar and Water Resources Minister Harsh Singh.