Madhya Pradesh: After ex-MP, former minister and BJP leader from Gwalior Balendu Shukla joins Congress

A week after Madhya Pradesh BJP leader and Ujjain MP Premchand Gudda joined Congress, another senior BJP leader and former Minister Balendu Shukla followed suit.

Former MLA from Gwalior and three term minister Balendu Shukla returned to the Congress fold after 11 years on Friday. He joined the grand old party in the presence of State Congress Chief Kamal Nath and other party leaders in Bhopal.

Shukla enjoys an important place in the politics of the Gwalior-Chambal region. He has been a three-time minister in earlier Congress regimes in the state and later served various posts with a Cabinet rank after joining the BJP in 2009.

Balendu was a classmate of late Madhavrao Scindia in Scindia School, Gwalior and known as his 'Bal Sakha’ (childhood friend). Shukla was part of the Congress for a long time but left the party in 2008 reportedly due to differences with Jyotiraditya Scindia who recently joined the BJP.

While joining the Congress he said, “I left the BJP because there is nothing for me. Former Congress leader and minister, late Madhav Rao Scindia brought me into politics, but, after his sad demise, I tried to work with his son, Jyotiraditya Scindia in the party for around eight years. But I did not feel comfortable with him and finally, I left the party due to ideological differences with him in 2008,"

He further said, "I have no complaint with CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP leaders, the party gave me respect and position but not any work, so, I left the party today," he said.

Shukla was reportedly unhappy with Jyotiraditya Scindia's entry into the BJP. The Congress hopes that Shukla's presence will help the party in the upcoming bypolls.  Out of 24 seats, which are going for by polls, 16 will be held in the Gwalior-Chambal region.

Shukla left the Congress and joined the BSP in 2008; later he crossed over to the BJP In 2009. Before joining the Congress, Shukla was a bank employee and contested his first election from Gwalior in 1990.

After Scindia joined the BJP, apart from Shukla, former Lok Sabha MP, Premchand Guddu also left the saffron party and joined the Congress earlier this week. Guddu said he had left the Congress in 2018 due to Scindia's ‘feudal behaviour’. The re-entry of Shukla and Guddu into the Congress is being considered significant for the party.