Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Pulled out of Indore poll race due to non-cooperation from Congress organisation, says Akshay Kanti Bam

Indore: Former Congress candidate from Indore Lok Sabha constituency, Akshay Kanti Bam, on Sunday, claimed non-cooperation by the party organisation for his campaign forced him to opt out of the poll race.

Bam's last-minute withdrawal of nomination on April 29 pushed the Congress out of the poll race in the Indore seat which the grand old party was trying to win for the last 35 years.

He later joined the BJP.

"After I was picked as Congress nominee, I worked hard myself to garner votes, but such a big election can't be fought without the cooperation of the party's organisation," Bam, a businessman by profession, told reporters at the BJP's office.

He claimed his poll programmes were put off and his publicity material did not reach the booth-level workers when he was a Congress nominee.

Before he pulled out of the race, Bam had talked to MP Congress president Jitu Patwari three times and flagged the issue of non-cooperation, he said.

"I wrote to leaders in Madhya Pradesh and Delhi that I wanted to organise poll meetings of senior leaders of Congress (for electioneering)," Bam said.

He claimed a senior leader of Congress was present at the Indore airport for two hours, but his rally was not organised.

Bam refused to disclose the name of the concerned leader.

Responding to criticism by Congress which dubbed him a deserter for switching over to the BJP, Bam said, "What is the definition of 'gaddar' (traitor)? Why did Congress make local leader Moti Singh a dummy candidate? This shows they didn't trust me."

Bam dismissed Congress' charge that he pulled out of the race five days after a local court directed the police to add an attempt to murder charge against him in a 17-year-old land grab case.

"Such matters were brought out intentionally after I was declared as the Congress nominee from Indore seat."

He refused to comment on BJP veteran Sumitra Mahajan's comments wherein she has expressed surprise over the last-minute exit of Bam from the poll arena, calling it unfair.

She had also said that voters have the right to decide in a democratic set-up.

"Tai (Mahajan) is not only a leader of Indore but she is also a big leader in the country. I am too small to comment on her statement," Bam added.