Published 15:07 IST, October 17th 2020
Digvijaya Singh dubs Congress-turned-BJP ex-MLAs as 'traitors', appeals to voters
Ahead of the Madhya Pradesh by-elections, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday took a dig at the party legislators who switched over to BJP
Ahead of the Madhya Pradesh bypolls, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday took a dig at the party legislators who switched over to BJP. Terming them as "traitors", he alleged that they were paid Rs.35 crore each to shift their allegiance. All 25 Congress MLAs joined BJP since March 2020 have been given tickets by the ruling party in the upcoming by-election on November 2.
In a dig at these candidates, Singh opined that the people who voted for them in the 2018 Assembly polls deserved to get a "share" of the alleged horsetrading amount. He called upon the people to not vote for these candidates unless the latter are willing to part with Rs.35 crore. Moreover, the Rajya Sabha MP put up photos of the ex-legislators along with a caption 'Traitor rate card', the number of votes secured by them in the last election and the amount "due" to each voter. Earlier in the day, the Congress party released its manifesto of the bypolls.
Fall of the Congress government
The Kamal Nath government plunged into crisis after Jyotiraditya Scindia’s sudden resignation from the Congress party on March 10 followed by 22 MP Congress MLAs putting in their papers. Ruling on a plea of BJP leaders seeking an immediate floor test, a two-judge SC bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta observed that the MP Assembly session should be reconvened on for the sole purpose of holding a floor test by show of hands. Most importantly, the rebel MLAs were not compelled to attend the session.
As the Congress party was short of a majority, Kamal Nath announced his resignation on March 20. Subsequently, Chouhan took oath as the MP CM for the fourth time. Subsequently, three more Congress leaders resigned as legislators and joined BJP. After July's Cabinet expansion, 14 of the 22 MLAs who had resigned from Congress are now a part of Shivraj Singh Chouhan's Cabinet.
By-election in 28 constituencies
On September 29, the Election Commission of India announced by-election in 28 MP Assembly constituencies- Joura, Sumawali, Morena, Dimani, Ambah, Mehgaon, Gohad, Gwalior, Gwalior East, Dabra, Bhander, Karera, Pohari, Bamori, Ashok Nagar, Mungaoli, Surkhi, Malhara, Anuppur, Sanchi, Biaora, Agar, Hatpipliya, Mandhata, Nepanagar, Badnawar, Sanwer and Suwasra. While the bypolls were necessitated in 25 seats due to the resignation of Congress MLAs, three other constituencies will also go to the polls as the sitting legislators passed away. To retain the power in MP, BJP needs to win only 9 out of the 28 seats. The counting of votes is scheduled for November 10.
Updated 15:07 IST, October 17th 2020