Congress-turned-BJP leader Kamlesh Shah on Tuesday filed a nomination for the bypoll scheduled to be held on July 10 in the Amarwara Assembly segment in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district.
Three-time Congress MLA Kamlesh Shah had switched to the BJP after quitting as a Congress legislator ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, necessitating the bypoll.
Chhindwara district is now all set to witness another high-voltage electoral contest in a span of eight months after the November 2023 Assembly polls and recently concluded general elections.
On Tuesday, he filed his nomination as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and state BJP chief V.D. Sharma.
Shah, who used to be a loyalist of Congress veteran and former chief minister Kamal Nath, won the last three consecutive Assembly elections (2013, 2018, and 2023) on Congress symbol.
He would be contesting his first election as BJP's nominee.
After wresting Chhindwara -- the last bastion of Congress in Madhya Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha election -- the BJP's state leadership is sounding confident of winning the by-election.
According to political observers, the BJP's confidence stems from the fact that Kamlesh Shah is an "established leader" in the Amarwara Assembly seat.
"Amarwara Assembly segment played a major role in the BJP's recent victory by over one lakh votes in the Lok Sabha polls from Chhindwara. We will win this time too, by a historic margin," CM Mohan Yadav said on Tuesday.
The Congress, however, is yet to announce the candidate for the July 10 by-election.
The last date for filing nominations is June 21, while June 26 is the last date for withdrawal.
The votes will be counted on July 13.
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