Jolt to BJP in Madhya Pradesh as MLA Quits Ahead of Polls

Bhopal: In a jolt to the BJP ahead of the year-end assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, party MLA from Kolaras Virendra Raghuvamsi on Thursday resigned from the saffron outfit.

In his resignation letter addressed to state BJP president Vishnu Dutt Sharma, Mr Raghuvamsi said that he has decided to quit BJP for being ‘marginalised’ in the party after the entry of Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia into the saffron outfit (three years ago).

He circulated the copies of the letter to the media while announcing his decision to resign from the primary membership of BJP at a news conference in Shivpuri in the state on Thursday.

He is the first BJP MLA to leave the party ahead of the ensuing assembly elections in the state, due in November this year.

Earlier over the last few weeks, about a half-a-dozen local BJP leaders in Gwalior-Chambal region in the state, considered the pocket borough of Mr Scindia, quit the party.

Mr Raghuvamsi also hailed from Gwalior-Chambal region.

BJP has however described the allegations made by Mr Raghuvamsi as ‘ridiculous, baseless and politically motivated’.

“Today, Kolaras MLA has joined back Congress by making all kinds of baseless allegations. Just look back how and with whose support he became MLA (by winning in the assembly by-election in Shivpuri in 2006). Then how he got tickets in 2008 and 2013 (assembly polls) and with whose help. He lost both the times (to BJP leader Yosadhararaj Scindia)”, BJP spokesman Pankaj Chaturvedi said in his X (formerly Twitter) post.

Mr Chaturvedi sought to indicate that it was Mr Scindia who had secured him Congress ticket in the 2006 by-elections to Shivpuri assembly seat and also in 2008 and 2013 assembly polls.

Mr Scindia was in Congress then.

Mr Raghuvamsi later fell out with Mr Scindia and quit Congress in 2014, sources said.

He later joined BJP.

He was given ticket by BJP to contest from Kolaras assembly seat in 2018 polls and won the seat by slender margin of less than 1000 votes in the polls.

Mr Scindia joined BJP in March 2020.

“The decision to quit BJP by the MLA is nothing but political opportunism, driven by political interests”, Mr Chaturvedi said.

Sources said Mr Raghuvamsi was most likely to join Congress on September two.

Sources said that Mr Raghuvamsi was keen to shift to Shivpuri assembly seat, currently represented by state youth and sports development minister Yosadhararaje Scindia, in the ensuing assembly polls.

He was reportedly assured of a ticket by Congress to contest from Shivpuri seat, if he returned to the grand old party, sources said.