Facing the challenge of rebels in several seats, the BJP and the Congress found some respite with some taking back their names on Thursday, the last day to withdraw the nominations for the November 17 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections.
Among the prominent leaders who withdrew their candidatures on Wednesday and Thursday are: Congress rebel in Bhopal’s Huzur seat, former MLA Jeetendra Daga; Congress rebel and former MLA from Jhabua seat Javier Meda; BJP rebel in Jabalpur (north-central) seat, Kamlesh Agrawal; and BJP rebel from Ratlam district’s A lot seat, Ramesh Malviya.
Mr. Daga, considered a heavyweight in the seat, took back his nomination shortly after Congress candidate Naresh Gyanchandani paid him a visit on Wednesday. A video of Mr. Gyanchandani touching Mr. Daga’s feet also surfaced on social media. As per local reports, Mr. Gyanchandani also took the disgruntled leader to meet PCC chief Kamal Nath and former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh.
