Congress Indore nominee Akshay Kanti Bam's photo with BJP's Kailash Vijayvargiya: ‘Welcome ’

Congress Lok Sabha candidate Akshay Kanti Bam joined the Bharatiya Janata Party after withdrawing his candidature from Indore, Madhya Pradesh Minister and BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya said on Monday.

The Congress had fielded Akshay Kanti Bam against sitting BJP MP Shankar Lalwani from the Indore Lok Sabha seat, where polling will be held on May 13. An official confirmed news agency PTI that Akshay Kanti Bam has withdrawn his candidature.

Kailash Vijayvargiya in a post on X (formally Twitter) said Akshay Kanti Bam was welcome to join the BJP.

"Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Indore Akshay Kanti Bam is welcome in the BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party national president JP Nadda, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and state president VD Sharma," Kailash Vijayvargiya said in the post.

This is the second setback for the Congress during the ongoing Lok Sabha election as on April 21, Congress Surat candidate Nilesh Kumbhani's nomination form was rejected after his three proposers submitted affidavits to the district returning officer claiming the signatures on it were not theirs.

The nomination form of Suresh Padsala, the Congress' substitute candidate, was also invalidated on the same grounds. On April 22, the BJP's Mukesh Dalal was declared elected unopposed from Surat after all other candidates, including from the BSP, withdrew their nominations. Following the declaration of the result on April 22, Kumbhani had gone incommunicado, and his whereabouts are still not known.

On Friday, Nilesh Kumbhani claimed that his Congress colleagues did not help during campaigning. The party hit back saying the cancellation of nomination was part of Kumbhani's “plan”. Kumbhani was suspended for six years by the Congress earlier in the day, which said the party's disciplinary committee had concluded that his nomination form was rejected due to gross negligence on his part or "in connivance with the BJP".

In a video he shared with the media, Kumbhani said he had received offers from the BJP in the past but remained with the Congress all these years and even kept his office open in Varachha area despite losing elections.