In a big setback to the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, its three-term MLA from Amarwara in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district, Kamlesh Shah, on Friday joined the ruling BJP.
Chhindwara, which goes to polls in the first phase on April 19, is the home district of Congress stalwart and former chief minister Kamal Nath.
Kamlesh Shah was welcomed into the BJP by the party's national joint general secretary Shiv Prakash, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and state party president Vishnu Dutt Sharma.
The three-term Congress MLA joined the BJP along with his wife, Harrai Nagar Palika chairperson Madhvi Shah, and sister, district panchayat member Kesar Netam.
Kamlesh Shah and his family members joined the BJP as they were impressed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's developmental works, a BJP leader said.
The state BJP's Lok Sabha poll in-charge Mahendra Singh, joint in-charge Satish Upadhyaya and senior minister Kailash Vijaywargiya, among others, were present on the occasion.
Mr Shah won from Amarwara in 2013, 2018 and 2023 assembly polls on a Congress ticket.
Nakul Nath, the lone Congress winner in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh, has filed his nomination papers from Chhindwara, which his father Kamal Nath has represented for nine terms in Parliament.
Kamal Nath is currently the MLA from the Chhindwara assembly seat.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
"Gurpatwant Pannun's Criminal Activities Are Concerning..": Sikh Activist Sukhi Chahal
Tusshar Kapoor suggested numerological changes for Bhajathe Raho Ashneer Grover's LinkedIn Post After Salman Khan Schools Him On Bigg Boss Biden Out Of Picture As World Leaders Meet At G20 Summit 2 Bikers Dead, Dozens Injured As Dense Smog Leads To Massive Pile-Ups In UP Google's New Feature May Let you Create Aliases To Fight Spam Mail. Here's How TVS Apache RTR 160 4V Gets Launched With USD Forks, New Paint Scheme Pakistan Imposes Section 144 Ahead Of Protest Threat By Imran Khan's Party Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.