Chhindwara Mayor joins BJP, says more defectors likely to follow

Mr. Ahake, 34, who is a “close confidant” of the Congress veteran and former CM Kamal Nath, switched to the BJP along with Chhindwara Municipal Corporation chairperson Pramod Sharma.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav with BJP State President V.D. Sharma and Chhindwara Mayor Vikram Singh Ahake after the latter joined BJP, in Bhopal, on April 1, 2024. | Photo Credit: PTI

The Mayor of Chhindwara and prominent tribal leader Vikram Ahake left the Congress and joined the BJP on April 1.  Chhindwara is former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath’s bastion. This follows the recent defection of a Congress MLA from Chhindwara to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Mr. Ahake, 34, who is a “close confidant” of the Congress veteran, switched to the BJP along with Chhindwara Municipal Corporation chairperson Pramod Sharma.

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Earlier on March 29, three-term Congress MLA from Amarwara in Chhindwara Lok Sabha segment Kamlesh Pratap Shah resigned from his Legislative membership and joined the BJP, reducing the number of Congress MLAs in Chhindwara to six. The Opposition party won all seven seats in Chhindwara Lok Sabha segment in the State Assembly Elections held last year in November.

Mr. Nath’s son and sitting Lok Sabha MP Nakul Nath is in the fray once again on a Congress ticket to save his father’s five-decade-old stronghold even as the BJP continues to recruit Congress workers and leaders from Chhindwara.

Mr. Ahake entered the BJP fold at Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s residence in Bhopal. 

Connect with Modi

Speaking to reporters after his induction, Mr. Ahake said that more Congress workers and leaders were expected to join the ruling party in the coming days. “Everybody wants to connect with Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.

Mr. Yadav, who visited Chhindwara on Monday to campaign, claimed that the Chhindwara Mayor had left the Congress as he was “hurt” because Mr. Nakul Nath’s had “insulted” tribals.

Referring to Mr. Shah, Mr. Nakul Nath had on March 30 said that while tribal people are generally “simple hearted and modest” Mr. Shah had turned out to be a “gaddar (traitor) and bikau (for sale)”.

Mr. Ahake had accompanied Mr. Nakul Nath when he filed his nomination last week.

In the past two months, various Congress leaders from Chhindwara, including some close aides of the senior Mr. Nath, have moved to the ruling party.

Six seats from Madhya Pradesh, including Chhindwara will go to polls in the first phase on April 19.