Bhopal, May 21 In the run-up to the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, the state's ruling BJP is witnessing several jolts as disgruntled leaders continued to shift to the Congress.
More worryingly, cracks are surfacing within the old-time BJP families as the brother of Pradeep Lariya - the three-time BJP MLA from Naryawali-SC seat of Sagar district joined the Congress along with hundreds of his supporters.
Hemant Lariya was reportedly disappointed with the state BJP leadership after he was denied a ticket for municipal election from Makronia in Naryawali in June last year. On Sunday, he joined the Congress here in presence of state party chief Kamal Nath and senior leader Digvijaya Singh.
After joining the Congress, Lariya launched a scathing attack at the BJP, accusing it of indulging in rampant corruption.
"Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan talks about zero tolerance against corruption, but in my Naryawali assembly constituency, one road is built thrice in quick succession," he said while obliquely targeting his own MLA brother.
Notably, Naryawali-SC seat in Sagar district, which has been a BJP fort since 2003, has been won since the last three times by Pradip Lariya. This seat is considered among the 66 BJP stronghold assembly segments.
Lariya's switchover into the Congress is the fourth major crossover of members from strong saffron party supporting families ahead of the Assembly elections.
First, Rao Yadvendra Singh Yadav, the son of former BJP MLA Rao Deshraj Singh Yadav of Ashok Nagar district, had joined the Congress earlier on March 22. Following which, former BJP MP Makhansing Solanki (also the uncle of present BJP Rajya Sabha member Sumer Solanki) joined the Congress in April.
However, the biggest psychological jolt to the saffron party came on May 6, when former CM Kailash Joshi's son and former minister Deepak Joshi, quit the BJP and joined the Congress. Five months back in December 2022, first-time BJP MP from Guna seat Dr K.P. Singh Yadav's brother Ajay Pal Singh Yadav too had joined the Congress.
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