BJP poaches one more Congress MLA to weaken Scindia

The BJP on Friday poached one more Congress MLA in an apparent bid to reduce Jyotiraditya Scindia’s influence on the Shivraj Singh government.

One Congress MLA had resigned last week while the BJP sources are claiming to be in touch with six more Opposition lawmakers.

Sumitra Devi Kasdekar (35) resigned from her Nepanagar (Scheduled Tribe) seat and is likely to announce her joining the BJP soon. She has not ascribed any particular reason for resignation which was immediately accepted by the Assembly pro-tem speaker Rameshwar Sharma.

On July 11, Congress MLA from Bada Malhera seat in Chhatarpur district Pradumn Singh Lodhi defected to the BJP after giving up his membership from the house. He was made chairman of the MP Civil Supplies Corporation with cabinet rank on the same day. Former Union minister Uma Bharti was instrumental in roping-in Pradumn Singh into the BJP.

Speculation was rife that two more Congress MLAs from the Lodhi community — Tarbar Singh and Rahul Singh—were also all set to defect to the BJP. Like Pradumn, these two MLAs hail from Bundelkhand region where Uma Bharti enjoys considerable political clout, particularly in her Lodhi community. However, PCC president Kamal Nath got a wind of the BJP’s plan and thwarted the MLAs' defection bid. Kamal Nath later summoned the two MLAs to his house and made them swear loyalty to the Congress before the media.

Alarmed by the BJP’s design to poach more Congress MLAs even after toppling his government, Kamal Nath assigned his three trusted loyalists, former ministers Sajjan Singh Verma, Bala Bachchan and former speaker NP Prajapati to keep an eye on the Congress flock.

While the three leaders engaged party MLAs from Bundelkhand region, which was considered vulnerable to poaching, Congress MLA Sumitra Devi from Nimar region secretly tendered her resignation to the speaker. She was considered close to former PCC chief Arun Yadav. Two more Congress MLAs from Nimar region are said to be in touch with the BJP and might resign.

BJP sources said the party is wooing more Congress MLAs as it felt the need to reduce dependence on Jyotiraditya Scindia’s supporters. In cabinet formation as well as in department allocation Scindia loyalists managed to get king’s share, leaving BJP old guards high and dry.

Scindia, who led a successful revolt against the Kamal Nath government in March with 19 MLAs, got 11 of his loyalists in the Shivraj Singh ministry. The chief minister yielded to Scindia’s pressure in allotting lucrative departments to the defectors who are yet to win Assembly election.

In the 230-strong state Assembly, the BJP has 107 MLAs while the strength of the Congress has been reduced to 90. With fresh resignations, 26 seats have fallen vacant for by-elections.

“The BJP is attempting to convert the country’s politics into a 'mandi' but neither the democracy nor the public will forgive this,” said Congress spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta.

BJP's Rajneesh Agrawal hit back at the Congress, describing it as a sinking ship. Suggesting that the opposition should introspect rather than level allegations against others, Agrawal said it would have been proper if the Congress had a word with the said MLA on why she decided to call it quits.