BJP MLA disqualified in MP after conviction in assault case

In a setback to the opposition BJP, Madhya Pradesh assembly secretariat on Saturday announced disqualification of BJP MLA from Pawai, Prahlad Lodhi, following his conviction in a criminal case. It also informed the Election Commission that Pawai seat has now fallen vacant.

On Thursday, a Bhopal court sentenced Lodhi and 12 others to two years in jail for attacking a Tehsildar (revenue official) in 2014. Speaker N P Prajapati said as per the Supreme Court's ruling, a public representative should be disqualified as soon as he or she is convicted, and the rule was followed in Lodhi's case.

An Assembly official said that as per the apex court's ruling, a legislator is disqualified if he or she is sentenced to two years or more in jail. Ruling Congress has 115 members in 230-member MP Assembly, while the BJP had 108 MLAs, now reduced to 107 with Lodhhi's disqualification..