Just ahead of assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan got a jolt from his own family after his brother-in-law, Sanjay Singh Masani, joined the Congress.
Masani, the brother of Chouhan’s wife Sadhana, was inducted into the Congress fold on Saturday in New Delhi in the presence of Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath and campaign committee chief Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Reports say that he was unhappy with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) decision of not giving him a ticket for the Assembly polls.
At the press conference following his induction into Congress, Masani accused the BJP of “dynasty politics”.
“BJP is now all about dynasty and nepotism. Most of the candidates fielded by BJP are sons and daughters of MLAs or MPs. Those who work for the party are being neglected for the sake of dynasty politics,” he said.
Referring to Kamal Nath, Masani said, “Madhya Pradesh needs Nath not Shivraj.”
He said that there is no industry in MP and there are no jobs for the unemployed. Acknowledging that investment has been made in the state, he slammed the state government for not being able to show results.
When asked to clarify on his dynasty politics remark given that he was himself the brother-in-law of the CM, Masani said that he is “a relative” and the term “parivar” means “son, daughter, wife, brother and sister”.
“I am their relative. I am Sanjay Singh Masani. My clan and gotra are different,” he said.
Masani reportedly wanted to contest from Waraseoni in Balaghat district from where the BJP has fielded sitting MLA Yogendra Nirmal.
The news of his induction into the Congress fold comes a day after the BJP released its first list of 177 candidates. Three ministers and 34 MLAs have been dropped. Names for the remaining 53 seats are ye to be announced.
The 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly will have a single phase polling on 28 November. CM Chouhan will contest from Budhini.