BJP membership drive ‘rattles’ Cong

Congress dares BJP to name its newly joined workers

The just concluded membership drive by BJP in poll-bound GwaliorChambal region in Madhya Pradesh that wooed 76,361 Congress workers, mostly loyalists of Rajya Sabha member Jyotiraditya Scindia, into its fold has “rattled” the grand old party.

Congress has however put up a brave front daring the ruling party to make public the list of Congress workers in the region who joined the saffron outfit.

“The BJP has hyped its whole exercise of membership drive in GwaliorChambal region. The party showed its existing members as new members. I challenge BJP to come out with a list of Congress workers who joined BJP”, senior Congress leader and former minister P.C. Sharma told reporters here on Tuesday.

Mr Sharma said that the Congress continued to enjoy a mass base in the region and it would be reflected in the upcoming Assembly by-elections in the area.

BJP however countered

Mr Sharma saying that the party was ready to provide addresses and names of the Congress workers in GwaliorChambal who joined BJP.

“Congress is rattled by the mass exodus of party workers in GwaliorChambal to join BJP. The membership drive by BJP has totally wiped out Congress in the region.

Earlier Congress leaders joined BJP. Now, ground level workers of Congress crossed over to BJP”, BJP spokesman here Rajneesh Agrawal said.

Eighteen of 27 Assembly constituencies that are going to by-elections in MP in coming days fall in Gwalior-Chambal region.

Twenty two former Congress MLAs, all are Mr Scindia’s loyalists, had resigned from the Assembly in March this year to pull down the 15month-old Kamal Nath government.

They later joined BJP following in the footsteps of Mr Scindia.

Later, three Congress legislators resigned from the House and then from the party to join BJP.

Two MLAs, one from Congress and the other from BJP, have recently passed away necessitating by-elections in their constituencies.

The Congress workers who joined BJP were from the Lok Sabha constituencies of Gwalior, Morena, Guna and Bhind.

The Gwalior and Guna LS constituencies are said to be pocket boroughs of Scindia family.

Mr Scindia however lost the last LS elections in Guna.

CONGRESS has however put up a brave front daring the ruling party to make public the list of Congress workers in the region who joined the saffron outfit