MP: Congress turncoat Kamlesh Shah who joined BJP wins Amarwara bypolls

Kamlesh Shah defeated Congress candidate Dhiren Shah in the last three rounds. Kamlesh was trailing behind Dhiren Shah from round four to 17 but he took the lead in round 18th and registered his win in round 20 of the counting

Updated on: Jul 13, 2024, 15:58:02 IST

By Shruti Tomar

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Bhopal: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Kamlesh Shah, a former Congress loyalist who defected from the party, won the by-election from Amarwara constituency of Chhindwara district with a close margin of 3,252 votes.

Kamlesh Shah had resigned from the membership of the assembly and joined BJP in March this year (Twitter Photo)

Kamlesh was up against Congress’ Dhiren Shah. While he was trailing in from the fourth to seventeenth round, Kamlesh took a lead in the eighteenth round of the twenty-round counting, registering a win.

Meanwhile, Congress alleged irregularities in the counting of the last two rounds. Congress supporters also allegedly created a ruckus and demanded recounting. “This win of BJP has nothing to do with democracy. BJP won with a narrow margin due to cheating and misuse of power,” Congress spokesperson KK Mishra said.

The by-election held on July 10 was necessitated after Kamlesh, a former Congress MLA and party loyalist, resigned from the assembly membership and joined the BJP in March this year.

A three-time MLA, Kamlesh had won the election against BJP candidate Monika Batti by over 25,000 votes in the December 2023 assembly election.

In this by-election, Congress had given a ticket to Dhiren, son of a religious guru of Aanchalkund Dham in Chhindwara. Dhiren, who joined politics after leaving a job as a salesman, gave a tough fight to Kamlesh.

“I am happy that the residents of Amarwara gave me a fourth chance to serve them. I will change the face of my area with development,” Kamlesh Shah after securing his win.

Since Independence, the BJP has won only twice from this seat. It was stated to be a strong bastion of Congress. In Chhindwara, where BJP had lost all seven seats in the assembly election 2023, BJP had finally opened its account by winning this seat.

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

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