In fresh blow to Congress in Kamal Nath stronghold, tribal royal crosses over to BJP

In another setback to the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, three-time MLA, member of the erstwhile Harrai royal family and tribal leader Kamlesh Pratap Shah switched over to the BJP on Friday. A long-time Kamal Nath ally, Shah is the sitting legislator from Amarwara, located in Nath’s Chhindwara bastion.

With Shah’s induction, the BJP will be hoping to make inroads into the Chhindwara Lok Sabha constituency as the party goes all out to corner sitting MP and Nath’s son Nakul. An elusive seat for the BJP, the party has failed to win it in the last few decades.

Shah’s induction into the BJP reduced the Congress to 65 members in the state Assembly. The Amarwara seat is expected to hold a by-election soon.

Behind Shah’s departure, party sources said, is a rift between him and Nakul. “Shah was ignored by Nakul Nath during programmes in Amarwara. He was not taken into account during the programme and the rift widened. There are two other tribal MLAs from the neighbouring districts who are in touch with us and they will soon join the party. They both have a rift with Nakul Nath, which the BJP is exploring,” said a BJP leader from Chhindwara.

Congress leaders in Chhindwara were mostly caught by surprise when Shah turned up at the BJP headquarters and met with Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. “We lost a big tribal leader. When he left for Bhopal we knew there was no point talking to him. He is very stubborn as he comes from a royal family. But he lives like a common man. Losing him means at least 25,000 votes will be damaged. This makes Nakul Nath look weak as his father’s closest allies desert the party,” said a senior Congress leader from Chhindwara.

As a member of the erstwhile ruling family, Shah has served as the president of the Janpad