Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Bisahu Lal Singh returned to the party’s fold on Sunday after going “missing” for over a week, PTI reported. Two more MLAs are still “missing”. Surendra Singh Shera, the Independent MLA from Burhanpur backing the Congress-led government in the state, had returned on Saturday.
Bisahu Lal Singh went to Bhopal to meet Chief Minister Kamal Nath at his residence, after taking a flight to Indore from Bengaluru. Madhya Pradesh Tourism Minister Surendra Singh Baghel accompanied him.
Bisahu Lal Singh’s family had filed a missing person complaint after he became untraceable. Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bala Bachchan claimed that the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party’s bid to topple the Congress-led government had failed.
Bachchan also expressed confidence that two more Congress legislators – Hardeep Singh Dang and Raghuraj Kansana – who are believed to be in Bengaluru, will return soon. He said that the Kamal Nath-led government, which also comprises MLAs from the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party, will complete its five-year term.
On March 6, Hardeep Singh Dang, the MLA from Suwasra, was reported to have sent his resignation letter, accusing the Congress of factionalism and corruption. However, Assembly Speaker NP Prajapati said Dang had not submitted the resignation to him in person, and that appropriate steps would be taken once it was done.
On March 3, the Congress had alleged that 10 MLAs who support its government in Madhya Pradesh had been taken by the BJP to a hotel in Gurugram. Late that night, the party claimed to have “rescued” six of them – four of the Congress and one each of the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party.
However, four MLAs remained missing and were allegedly taken to Bengaluru. This included Dang, Kansana, Bisahu Lal Singh and Independent MLA Shera. On March 5, the Congress claimed that the BJP had “abducted” 14 of its MLAs , but details of this allegation are not clear.
In the 230-seat Madhya Pradesh Assembly, the Congress has 114 MLAs and the BJP has 107. Out of the rest of the seats, the BSP has two and the Samajwadi Party has one. Four are Independent MLAs, while two seats are currently vacant.
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