Congress MLA joins BJP, cites PCC chief's 'indecent remark'
BHOPAL: Two days before the third phase of polling for Lok Sabha election, Congress MLA Nirmala Sapre joined BJP at a campaign rally of chief minister Mohan Yadav in Sagar’s Rahatgarh on Sunday
Sapre said she was pained by PCC chief Jitu Patwari’s “indecent remark” against Imarti Devi, who is also a Dalit. This was the trigger for her switch, she said.
Sapre is the third sitting Congress MLA to switch to the saffron camp during the Lok Sabha polls. Just five days ago, when Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was campaigning in MP’s Bhind, six-time MLA Ram Niwas Rawat – the party’s OBC face from Chambal region – joined BJP.
On March 29, Amarwara (Chhindwara) MLA Kamlesh Shah had switched sides and joined BJP, dealing a shock to the Congress on former CM Kamal Nath’s turf.
Sapre represents the SC-reserved Bina segment of Sagar Lok Sabha seat. It was the lone Congress seat among the 8 assembly segments.
In the 2023 assembly elections, she defeated two-time BJP MLA Mahesh Rai by a thin margin of 6,000 votes.
Talking to the media after joining BJP, Sapre attacked Congress and said that the party neither has a government nor an agenda. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Mohan Yadav have an agenda of development. I saw in the last six months that the development of my area was being blocked. I have joined BJP to get my area developed. We cannot get the area developed by staying in Congress,” she said.
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