MP MLA quits Cong, joins BJP; gets plum post within hours

Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Pradyuman Singh Lodhi on Sunday resigned from the party and as member of the state Assembly, and joined the BJP before being appointed as the chairman of a state-run corporation with the rank of a cabinet minister.

Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Pradyuman Singh Lodhi on Sunday resigned from the party and as member of the state Assembly, and joined the BJP before being appointed as the chairman of a state-run corporation with the rank of a cabinet minister. Soon after he joined the BJP on Sunday afternoon, the party-led state government appointed Lodhi as the chairman of Madhya Pradesh State Civil Supplies Corporation.

Lodhi, who was a legislator from Bada Malhera seat in Chhatarpur district, joined the saffron party as its state headquarters here in the presence of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. On the occasion, state BJP chief V D Sharma announced Lodhi's induction into the party fold.

"I have resigned as MLA. My resignation has been accepted. Only the BJP can develop my Assembly seat areas. The chief minister also approved developmental schemes for my area," Lodhi told reporters after joining the party. In the evening, the state government issued an order saying that Lodhi has been appointed as chairman of MP State Civil Supplies Corporation.

The government also accorded the rank of a cabinet minister to him, an official said. In another order, the state government appointed Pradeep Jaiswal, independent MLA from Waraseoni of Balaghat district, as Chairman of Madhya Pradesh State Mining Corporation Limited.

Jaiswal has also given the status of cabinet minister rank by the state government, the official said. Jaiswal, a minister in the previous Congress government, had extended support to the BJP after the fall of the previous Kamal Nath government in March this year.

With Lodhi's resignation, the Congress's strength in the state Assembly reduced to 91. In March this year, 22 Congress MLAs resigned from the Congress after former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the party, resulting in the collapse of the Kamal Nath-led Madhya Pradesh government.

On March 23, Chouhan took oath as chief minister for a record fourth term. The BJP currently has 107 MLAs in the state Assembly.

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