Kamal Nath held a meeting with his party’s lawmakers on Sunday evening. (File)
Bhopal:
Madhya Pradesh congress chief Kamal Nath held a meeting with his party’s lawmakers Sunday evening, two days after another deputy left the big party and joined the ruling BJP, the second doing so in the week and 24 since March.
Congress leaders said Nath had held talks with party lawmakers to feel the pulse after two deputies, Sumitra Devi Kasdekar and Pradymna Singh Lodhi, resigned from the state assembly in six days and joined the BJP.
While Mr. Lodhi resigned last Sunday, Ms. Kasdekar did so on Friday.
A deputy said on condition of anonymity that at the meeting, the Legislative Party of Congress (CLP) decided to expose the BJP leaders who came to them with gaits.
Former Minister of State Tarun Bhanot said, “We will hammer the BJP in by-elections in 26 constituencies, two of which have become vacant due to the disappearance of serving members.”
“Our party will raise questions of public interest to monopolize the BJP in power. Since the Saffron party came to power in March, anarchy has been on the rise among deputies,” he added.
Another MP said that four to five party lawmakers, including former sick Minister of State Lakhan Gangoria, could not attend the meeting.
“The meeting was called to decide that we will take the BJP head-on in the by-elections. We are not at all afraid that people will leave us and join the BJP for selfish gains,” said the spokesman for the ministry. Congress, Bhupendra Gupta.
In March, 22 rebel congressional MPs, mostly loyal to former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, resigned, reducing the government led by Nath to a minority. After Mr. Nath’s resignation on March 20, the BJP returned to power with Shivraj Singh Chouhan as chief minister for the fourth term.
More than a dozen of the 22 deputies who resigned obtained positions in the Chouhan government.
With the exodus of 24 deputies, the Congress found itself with 90 deputies in the Parliamentary Assembly, whose current membership is 204. The actual membership of the Chamber is 230.
