Madhya Pradesh: Setback to Congress in Chhindwara region as party’s 3-term MLA joins BJP | India News

NEW DELHI: The Congress in Madhya Pradesh suffered a jolt on Friday with party’s three-term MLA from Amarwara in Chhindwara district joining the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Chhindwara is the bastion of senior Congress leader and former state chief minister Kamal Nath, and was the lone seat which the grand old party had won in the state in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.The Congress has fielded Kamal Nath‘s son Nakul Nath from Chhindwara which goes to polls in the first phase on April 19.
Kamlesh Shah joined the BJP along with his wife, Harrai Nagar Palika chairperson Madhvi Shah, and sister, district panchayat member Kesar Netam in the presence of several senior leaders, including chief minister Mohan Yadav.
The Congress, which suffered a shock defeat in the assembly elections last year, faces an uphill task to make its presence felt in the national elections. In the last two Lok Sabha elections in the state, BJP decimated the grand old party as the saffron party scored landslide victories, winning 28 seats in 2019 and 27 in 2014.

For BJP, the biggest challenge perhaps would be to ensure that the Lotus blooms in Chhindwara.