MP: Unhappy with ticket distribution, BJP legislator joins Congress

Disgruntled over not being selected to contest the upcoming Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Pramila Singh has quit the party and joined the Congress.

Pramila, who was a BJP MLA from Jaisingh Nagar constituency in Shahdol district, was inducted into the Congress in the presence of senior party leader Ajay Singh.

Speaking to ANI, the newly-inducted Congress leader claimed that although the BJP boasted of women empowerment, it did not grant her a ticket to contest the polls even though she served the people and the party for five years.

"The government talks about empowering women, but they have not given a ticket to a woman who served people and the Bharatiya Janata Party for five years. I have joined the Congress now. I don't want to do politics but work for the welfare of people," she said.

Madhya Pradesh will go to polls on November 28 to elect 230 members of the legislative assembly. The results will be declared on December 11.

The single-phase election in the state is seen as a direct political battle between the BJP and the Congress. While Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is attempting to secure a fourth consecutive term, the Congress will fight for regaining power after 2003.