In another direct jolt to former MP Congress Chief Minister Kamal Nath, his closest supporter and four-time former Congress MLA from Chhindwara, Deepak Saxena quit the party on Thursday, said sources.
Saxena was considered as Nath’s acolyte, as he had resigned from his MLA membership in 2019 to pave way for Kamal Nath to contest and win the Assembly by-election from Chhindwara. Nath was not a member of the MP State Assembly in 2018 when he was made the Chief Minister of the state after the Congress defeated the BJP after 15 years.
Saxena had joined the Congress way back in 1974. Sources said Saxena has sent his resignation to MP Congress Chief Jitu Patwari. Deepak Saxena is likely to join the BJP around 27 March, sources said.
Deepak Saxena’s son, Ajay Saxena, joined the BJP today.
Besides Saxena, Congress leader Balram Patel also quit the Congress today. Patel claimed he is a distant cousin of MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari.
Patwari, however, refuted Patel’s claim and said they were not related.
Patwari asserted that the Congress would become stronger after the exit of “opportunistic” and “expelled” members of the party.
He claimed that the Congress would be revitalized and roaring and time would be on the party’s side in the next five years.
In a press release today evening, the BJP said that 400 Congress leaders including Patel and Saxena joined their party to serve the country under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
On 18 March, another of Kamal Nath’s closest supporters, Syed Jafar of Chhindwara, had quit the Congress and joined the BJP.
Jafar took membership of the saffron party in the presence of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav, MP BJP Chief V D Sharma and other leaders.
Jafar has been the Vice President of the MP Congress media cell and a member of the district panchayat of Chhindwara in the past. He was considered one of the closest leaders of Chhindwara to Kamal Nath.
Belonging to the minority community, Jafar is regarded as a very influential Muslim leader of the region too