Former Congress MLA joins BJP in Chhattisgarh

Raipur: Former Congress MLA Shishupal Sori and several of his supporters on Thursday joined the BJP in Chhattisgarh.

Sori, who was denied a ticket by the Congress in the 2023 Assembly polls, joined the BJP in the presence of Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Deputy CM Arun Sao at the ruling party's headquarters in Raipur.

Sori was elected on a Congress ticket from Kanker in the 2018 assembly polls.

Speaking on the occasion, the CM said the Congress is on the verge of extinction as leaders and workers were quitting it every day.

"They are leaving ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Congress workers who raise their voice are insulted by the party and called sleeper cells. The Congress is going through its worst phase," Sai added.

Sori joined the BJP a day ahead of the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls. Bastar is the only Lok Sabha seat in the state that will go to polls on Friday.