Cong dig after 2 MLAs of BJP cross vote: Nath only lion in MP

Days after two MLAs of the BJP voted with the Congress in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, the ruling party on Saturday termed Chief Minister Kamal Nath as the only "sher" of the state in a dig at former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan whose "Tiger Abhi Zinda Hai" remark had caused a flutter after his party lost power in the December elections.

The BJP was left stunned when the MLAs Sharad Kol (Beohari) and Narayan Tripathi (Maihar) voted in favour of the Criminal Law Amendment Bill, 2019, tabled by the Congress in the House on July 24.

"The people of BJP can keep dreaming if they want to but Kamal Nath has proved that he is the only 'sher' (lion) in the entire Madhya Pradesh," Urban Administration Minister Jaivardhan Singh, son of senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, told reporters here.

The minister was responding to senior BJP leader Narottam Mishra's statement, which he had made against the backdrop of the development, saying "the Congress has started this game and we will end it".

"The two BJP MLAs left their party to come with the Congress because they have full faith in Kamal Nath's leadership. They supported us as they were impressed by the working style of Nath," Singh said.

He refused to comment when asked about the future course of political developments in the Congress-ruled state.

After the MLAs cross-voted, Public Relations Minister P C Sharma claimed that several BJP MLAs were in touch with the chief minister and may cross over to the Congress by the next assembly session.

Chouhan, who served as chief minister for 13 years before his party lost to the Congress by a narrow margin in the last assembly elections, had termed himself a "tiger" in December last year.

"Nobody needs to worry what will happen. I am still here. 'Tiger Abhi Zinda Hai' (Tiger is still alive)," he had said while invoking the title of a Salman Khan-starrer Bollywood film.