3 lawmakers join BJP in Madhya Pradesh

Thirty-one lawmakers have joined the BJP since 2020 when it returned to power in Madhya Pradesh after 22 Congress lawmakers resigned and brought down chief minister Kamal Nath’s government

Published on: Jun 14, 2022, 14:31:10 IST

By Shruti Tomar

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A Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), a Samajwadi Party (SP), and an Independent lawmaker joined the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday.

Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was among those who welcomed Sanjeev Singh Kushwaha (BSP), Bijawar Rajesh Kumar Shukla (SP) Vikram Singh Rana (Independent) into the party

Thirty-one lawmakers have joined the BJP since 2020 when it returned to power in Madhya Pradesh after 22 Congress lawmakers resigned and brought down chief minister Kamal Nath’s government. The BJP’s strength in the state’s 230-member assembly has now gone up to 128.

Kushwaha, the son of a former BJP Member of Parliament, said he is happy to join the party, which is like a family for him.

Shukla said he was expecting a ticket from the BJP in 2018 but did not get it. “But I have been supporting the BJP since 2020.”

Rana said when he won the election as an Independent in 2018, he was expecting to work with BJP. “But it could not happen. As development was the aim, I supported then state government. Now, I am glad that I will work with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to develop my constituency.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More