Lok Sabha polls: Two former Congress MLAs join BJP in Madhya Pradesh

Two former Congress MLAs joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh on Monday.

The political development comes two days after former Union minister Suresh Pachouri bid adieu to his five-decade allegiance with the Congress, and joined the BJP.

Former Congress legislators Arunoday Choubey and Shivdayal Bagri joined the BJP in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and MP party president VD Sharma at the state BJP headquarters in Bhopal.

Choubey was elected as MLA from Khurai seat in Sagar district in 2008, while Bagri represented Gunnaur assembly seat in Panna district in 2018.

There was speculation that Congress leader and former MLA Deepak Joshi, son of BJP stalwart and ex-chief minister Kailash Joshi, might also join the ruling party along with Choubey and Bagri.

But Joshi did not join the BJP on Monday.

Asked about the speculation, BJP state president VD Sharma said, "People will keep coming to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the family will keep growing."

Deepak Joshi, a former state minister, joined the Congress before the 2023 MP assembly polls and unsuccessfully contested on its ticket from Khategaon seat in Dewas district.

On Saturday, veteran leader Suresh Pachouri and former MP Gajendra Singh Rajukhedi joined the BJP along with former MLAs Sanjay Shukla (who represented Indore-1 seat in the past), Arjun Paliya (Pipariya), Vishal Patel (Depalpur).