Congress alleges betrayal as candidate withdraws from Indore by-poll

Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh on Monday termed as a very big betrayal the withdrawal of the candidature by the party nominee from Indore Lok Sabha seat, Akshay Kanti Bam.

Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh on Monday termed as ''a very big betrayal'' the withdrawal of the candidature by the party nominee from Indore Lok Sabha seat, Akshay Kanti Bam. '''Bahut badi gaddari ki hai'....It is a very big betrayal. This was not expected from him,'' Singh told PTI in Rajgarh. When asked whether he had supported Bam's candidature, Singh said, ''The ticket was given by the Congress party''.

Singh, however, admitted that he had family relations with Bam. In a major blow to the Congress in Madhya Pradesh after the Surat fiasco, Bam withdrew from the Indore contest on Monday. He is apparently headed to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) camp.

The Congress has dubbed Bam opting out of the poll race on the last day of the withdrawal of nominations a ''threat to democracy''. Notably, the BJP marked its first victory in Lok Sabha polls last week from the Surat seat in Gujarat after the nomination form of the Congress' candidate Nilesh Kumbhani was rejected over discrepancies and other contestants opted out of the race, which ensured BJP nominee Mukesh Dalal getting a walkover.

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