Makhan Singh Solanki, a former Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) MP has joined the Congress ahead of assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh due in the latter part of this year.
He joined the Congress in the presence of senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh in a program organised by the district Congress committee in Barwani. As per PTI, party functionaries said Solanki was elected as a member of the Lok Sabha from the Khargone-Barwani seat in 2009.
On this occasion, while addressing the public, Congress leader Digvijay Singh welcome Makhan Singh Solanki to the party and said, “Makhan Singh Solanki has expressed his clear intentions after joining our party. BJP never respected him. It is disheartening to see a man who never lost an election in his life was never admired in BJP”.
Digvijaya Singh further stated that the BJP never cared about minorities and instead always disrespected them.
“BJP disrespects those who belong to Scheduled caste and Schedule Tribe. Congress always honoured the minorities of this nation under the vision of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar,” he said.
The 2018 elections in the state had thrown up a hung Assembly, with the Congress emerging as the largest party with 114 seats in the 230-member House. The BJP won 109 seats.
The Congress formed a coalition government under Kamal Nath, but it fell in March 2020 after several MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia walked out and joined the BJP, paving the way for Shivraj Singh Chouhan to return as chief minister.
The Congress and the BJP are also tied in a fierce battle in the state of Karnataka which goes to polls on May 10 and the results will be declared on May 13. While the Congress has accused the BJP of indulging in corruption and dubbed it the '40% Commission' government, the BJP has rubbished the allegations have expressed confidence that it will come back to power in the state with majority.