Bhopal, Mar 11 (IANS): The Congress got another jolt in Madhya Pradesh ahead of the Lok Sabha elections as two more MLAs – Arunoday Choube and Shivdayal Bagri, who had quit the grand old party recently, shifted into the ruling BJP on Monday.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav along with state BJP President and former state Home Minister Narottam Mishra, who is also the head of the joining committee, welcomed the Congress leaders at party headquarters.

Choube had won the Assembly election on the Congress’ ticket from Khurai seat under Sagar District in 2008; however, he lost in 2013 and 2018 to the BJP’s senior leader and minister Bhupendra Singh.

Choube had resigned from the Congress in 2022 but had returned to the party fold ahead of the Assembly election in 2023.

Choube, who is considered an established politician in Bundelkhand region in Madhya Pradesh, is said to be close to veteran Congress leader Kamal Nath. As the Congress witnessed a shocking defeat against the BJP in the Assembly election held in November last year, and Kamal Nath was also replaced with Jitu Patwari as state President, Choube quit the party two days ago and has made his way to the BJP again ahead of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Another MLA of the Congress, Shivdayal Bagri who resigned from the party two days ago shifted into the BJP on Monday. Bagri, an SC leader had won the Assembly election on the Congress’ ticket from Gunnour Constituency in Panna District in 2018.

Upon welcoming the Congress leaders into the party, the Madhya Pradesh BJP President said the Congress leaders were joining the BJP as they have faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his leadership.

The fresh jolt to the grand old party came two days after senior Congress leader and former minister Suresh Pachouri, who was considered close to the Nehru-Gandhi family, along with several other party leaders, joined the BJP on Saturday.

Sources told IANS that BJP patriarch and Jan Sangh founder member and former Chief Minister Kailash Joshi’s son Deepak Joshi, who had shifted into the Congress ahead of the Assembly elections, is also likely to rejoin the BJP soon.

Deepak Joshi was also supposed to join the BJP along with Choube and Bagri on Monday however, he didn’t turn up and is likely to join some other day, sources in the BJP said.