Sartaj Singh, the former Union Minister of Madhya Pradesh (MP,) switched to the Congress Party on Thursday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) denied giving a ticket to Sartaj Singh and did not add his name to their third list of candidates representing the Seoni Malwa constituency in the MP polls. Following this, Mr. Sartaj joined the Congress, who welcomed him and nominated him in their fifth list of candidates. The Congress announced his name as a candidate for the Hoshangabad Assembly elections.
Since 2016, there were issues between Sartaj Singh and the BJP as the BJP removed him from the cabinet, stating he is over the age criteria of 75. This rift between Mr. Singh, who is 78 years old, and the BJP is said to be the reason for the BJP not nominating Mr. Singh as their candidate in the upcoming polls.
Mr. Singh said, “I am grateful to the Congress for nominating me from Hoshangabad. I had been with the saffron family for 58 long years. The BJP denied me a ticket. I want to be in the midst of the people so I am contesting elections.”
Sartaj will now compete against BJP’s candidate, Sitasharan Sharma, in the Hoshangabad Assembly elections.
Speaking about Sartaj Singh’s switch to Congress, Anil Soumitra, the Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesperson, said, “The BJP has valued him immensely. The party has made him Union minister, twice MP Minister, MP and MLA. What more does he want?”
There will be a total of 230 members from the BJP and Congress each, who will stand in the upcoming MP polls. The BJP is yet to announce the names of 5 candidates competing in the elections. The Congress party is expected to reveal the names of 6 candidates in the upcoming days.
The Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls are scheduled on the 28th of November and the results will be declared on the 11th of December.
