BHOPAL: In a stunning blow to Congress ahead of Lok Sabha polls, party MLA from Amarwara assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh, Kamlesh Shah, a close aide of former CM Kamal Nath, joined BJP on Friday.
The most important tower of Nath's Chhindwara citadel has now fallen into BJP hands. He now finds himself holding the Chhindwara fort alone as his loyalists desert him.
It's Amarwara assembly segment that gave Nath's son Nakul crucial lead in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, helping Congress retain the Nath bastion despite the saffron wave that swept up 28 of 29 LS seats in the state. Nath made an emotional appeal to the people of Chhindwara: "Support me till my last breath." Chhindwara votes in the first phase on April 19.
After joining BJP, Shah said, "Today, I have taken primary membership of BJP after being influenced by the schemes and developmental works of PM Narendra Modi. We will work for the all-round development of Amarwara and Chhindwara. We will work to get a historic win for BJP candidate Vivek Bunty Sahu."