Legislator Rahul Lodhi who campaigned for the Congress only two days ago suddenly gave a severe jolt to the party.
Though MP Congress president Kamal Nath says he was acquainted about Lodhi’s switchover to the BJP, there is no doubt that his joining the ruling has rattled the party.
Lodhi was electioneering for the Congress in Bada Malhera as well as in other assembly constituencies.
The Congress leaders have begun to make viral some old video clips of Lodhi.
In these videos, Lodhi is heard saying the BJP has purchased Congress legislators by giving each of them Rs 35 crore.
Lodhi is also heard saying the rate of MLAs on the basis of each voter and calling those Congress leaders who joined the BJP as ‘traitors’.
There is resentment among the Congress leaders at Lodhi. Former chief minister Digvijaya Singh said real BJP leaders will be replaced by traitors from the Congress.
Singh has said he feels pity on those RSS leaders who have taken the BJP to its present state.
According to Singh, former minister Jayant Malaiya has said that purchasing legislators is an offence to democracy.
Lodhi has lowered the prestige of his family, he said.
Congress shocked, leader deployed to control legislators
Now that Rahul Lodhi has defected to the BJP, the Congress leadership has begun to keep in touch with those leaders who might switch over to the ruling party. A few leaders in Bundelkhand region are close to Lodhi, and the Congress fears, that they may desert the party.
The party has deployed Chhatarpur MLA, Alok Chaturvedi, to keep in touch with those legislators. Both Kamal Nath and former leader of opposition Ajay Singh are talking to the party legislators. Former chief minister Digvijaya Singh has also been told to keep the party MLAs together.
Likewise, former president of party Arun Yadav has been asked to hold discussions with the MLAs from Nimar so that they may not desert the party before the by-elections.
Rumours are doing the rounds that some more Congress legislators may defect to the BJP. So that more legislators do not desert the party, the Congress has deployed all its strength to stop them.
According to sources, a few MLAs were in touch with the BJP even during the Congress rule, and now, they are defecting to the ruling party one after another.
