Congress workers say they warned party not to give ticket to Akshay Kanti Bam
The abrupt exit of the Congress's Indore candidate Akshay Kanti Bam for the Lok Sabha elections has left the party wondering why he took that step.
Mr Bam withdrew his nomination papers and joined the BJP today.
Now, word on the Congress street is that party workers are upset the leadership did not consider their request not to field somebody "unreliable" as Mr Bam.
A visibly upset Congress worker told reporters he had in a meeting with senior leaders of the party warned them that Mr Ban is the kind of person who will withdraw his candidature later, under pressure from the BJP.
"I had warned them right from the start, indicated to our leaders, do not give a ticket to Akshay Bam. Give to a loyal party worker, somebody like me. I'd fight the election with all my might," the party worker said.
"I had told them not to give ticket to a candidate with money as Akshay Bam. They should realise the wealth of Congress is their party workers. I knew Akshay Bam would withdraw his name because BJP gives tickets to people who have money," he said.
"I told all this at the Congress office where Sajjan Verma ji, Surjit Chaddha, and Ravi Joshi ji and many others were present... Now the Congress will have to pay the price for ignoring party workers. The party should give tickets to party workers who have been with the party for years and years. If the party doesn't trust us, the Congress will lose," he added.
Madhya Pradesh minister Kailash Vijayvargiya later posted a picture with Mr Bam on X, welcoming him to the BJP.
Former Chief Minister and BJP nominee from Vidisha seat, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, took a dig at the Congress saying the condition of the party has become such that even candidates did not want to be within them.
"Faith of all the leaders and workers is in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP. The condition of the Congress has become such that even candidates do not want to be within its party. Today, a Congress candidate from Indore Lok Sabha joined the BJP. Now, this is the Congress whose candidate does not have faith in the party," Mr Chouhan told news agency ANI.
The people of Indore will vote in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 13, with seven other parliamentary seats in the state.
The Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh are being conducted in four phases. Votes will be counted on June 4. Madhya Pradesh has a total of 29 Lok Sabha constituencies, making it the sixth-largest state in terms of parliamentary representation. Out of these, 10 seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, while the remaining 19 are unreserved.