The chief of the Madhya Pradesh Congress party urged voters in the Indore Lok Sabha constituency on Monday to utilise the "None of the Above" (NOTA) option after their candidate withdrew from the race.
Jitu Patwari's call comes after Akshay Kanti Bam, the Congress nominee for the Indore Lok Sabha seat, pulled out of the election, citing a lack of support from his own party. Bam later defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a move witnessed by senior BJP leaders including Kailash Vijayvargiya and state cabinet ministers.
Patwari decried the BJP's actions as a "political unnatural deed," alleging that the ruling party resorted to kidnapping and threatening Congress candidates in four cities, an act he labelled as a threat to democracy.
"We will press Nota." It has now become clear that there will be no Modi government," Patwari asserted, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration. "PM Modi only makes controversial statements. There is a lack of trust among people."
Meanwhile, Bam defended his withdrawal, stating that he couldn't contest a major election without his party's support. He accused the Congress of sabotaging his campaign efforts by cancelling his programmes and failing to distribute his publicity materials effectively.
Bam claimed that he had raised concerns about the lack of cooperation from Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari on multiple occasions. He also alleged that despite a senior Congress leader's presence at the Indore airport, his rally was not organised.
Responding to accusations of being labelled a traitor by the Congress, Bam questioned the party's decision to field Moti Singh, a local leader, as a "dummy candidate," suggesting a lack of trust in him.
He denied the Congress' claim that his withdrawal was prompted by a court order to add an attempted murder charge against him in a 17-year-old land grab case.
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