Congress' Indore nominee Akshay Bam withdraws candidature; joins BJP

The Congress nominee for the Indore Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh, Akshay Kanti Bam on Monday withdrew his candidacy and has joined the BJP.

An official confirmed Bam's withdrawal from the race.

Soon after, senior BJP leader and state cabinet minister Kailash Vijayvargiya welcomed Bam to the BJP.


In a statement on social media platform X, Vijayvargiya stated, "Akshay Kanti Bam, Congress' Lok Sabha candidate from Indore, is welcomed to the BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party national president JP Nadda, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, and state president VD Sharma."


Bam was set to contest against incumbent BJP MP Shankar Lalwani in the upcoming elections scheduled for May 13.

The Congress had fielded Bam, 45, a newbie in the poll arena, against sitting BJP MP Shankar Lalwani, 62, from the Indore Lok Sabha seat, which is a stronghold of the saffron party.

Bam hasn't run for office yet in his entire political career.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress extended an invitation to him to run from Indore, where a number of party employees, including three former MLAs, had defected and joined the BJP.

With 25.13 lakh voters, Indore is the state's largest constituency in terms of voters.

The BJP has stated that they are confident they will win by eight lakh votes this time.