Over two dozen BSP leaders join Cong; Digvijay says no MLA will defect

Over two dozen BSP leaders including Pragi Lal Jatav, who had earlier contested Assembly Elections from Karera constituency in Shivpuri, have joined the Congress in Madhya Pradesh.

The leaders received the membership of Congress party after meeting former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath on Sunday.

The by-polls in the state have been necessitated as seats fell vacant after the sitting MLAs resigned. It is expected to take place in September.

Meanwhile, senior party leader Digvijay Singh said that contrary to Gujarat, no defections of Congress MLAs will take place in Madhya Pradesh ahead of the elections for three Rajya Sabha seats.

In the light of resignations by 22 MLAs of the Congress in March this year, which led to the fall of Kamal Nath government, Singh demanded a stricter anti-defection law in the country.

On three MLAs of the Congress resigning as the members of the Gujarat Assembly in the last few days ahead of the June 19 elections to Rajya Sabha, Singh accused the ruling BJP of playing "politics of money" and resorting to "horse trading".

"The BJP has earned a lot of money and is engaged in the politics of horse-trading, so it is hard to say about MLAs switching sides," he said. Singh said the MLAs who wanted to leave the Congress had done so in Madhya Pradesh.

On the defection of Scindia, Singh said, "I used to tell Scindia that he will lead the Congress in Madhya Pradesh for the next 25 years as Kamal Nath and I are growing older. But, he was impatient and ardently desired to become a minister in the Modi cabinet".

Singh said Scindia was like a son to him.

"His father (late Madhavrao Scindia) had made his place as a brave and honest leader in the Congress," he said. Singh said the Congress always treated Jyotiraditya Scindia with a lot of respect.