Congress' Rahul Lodhi dumps party & joins BJP ahead of Madhya Pradesh by-polls

In a shocking development for the Congress party ahead of the Madhya Pradesh by-polls, Congress MLA Rahul Lodhi joined the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Lodhi tendered his resignation to Protem Speaker Rameshwar Sharma and joined the party in the presence of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan.

Taking a jibe at the Congress, Lodhi said that all the public welfare schemes have been put to a halt in Damoh.

"I have worked with Congress for around 14 months but I couldn't work for the development. All the public welfare schemes have been put to a halt in Damoh. Today I have joined BJP willingly. I am sure that Damoh will touch great heights," said Lodhi.

State BJP chief V.D. Sharma announced Lodhi’s induction into the party fold and stated that the power of BJP has increased.

"We welcome him in BJP. He chose a special day, Vijayadashami. Now the power of BJP has increased. We will work as a family," he said.

Lodhi's resignation comes three months after his brother and Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Pradyuman Singh Lodhi resigned from the party as a member of the state assembly, and joined BJP. Soon after Pradyuman joined, the BJP-led state government-appointed him the chairman of Madhya Pradesh State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd.

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Recently,  Congress spokesperson Khushbu Sundar resigned from the party and took charge in Tamil Nadu as one of the senior members with the BJP Tamil Nadu. Sundar, who has been with the Congress for close to six years, is in Delhi and may meet the BJP’s central team including senior member JP Nadda after her induction into the party.

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Madhya Pradesh crisis & bypolls

The crisis in the Kamal Nath government started when Congress alleged BJP of poaching 4 MLAs - two of which returned to Kamal Nath's folds. Soon, 22 MLAs including 6 cabinet ministers - loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia - quit the party, reducing the Congress to a minority government with 92 MLAs. Following this, Scindia resigned from Congress and then joined the BJP. After Nath stepped down as CM and the Madhya Pradesh Speaker accepted all 22 MLAs' resignation, all of them promptly joined BJP. Three more Congress MLAs have joined BJP since then - vacating 27 seats in the Assembly. 28 seats are up for polls now as BJP holds majority with 107 MLAs and Congress holds 88 seats in the 230-member assembly.

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