New Delhi: In a significant blow to the Congress, party leader Akshay Kanti Bam withdrew his nomination from the Indore constituency on Monday, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, as reported by PTI.

Bam had been the Congress's choice to contest against the incumbent BJP MP Shankar Lalwani for the Indore seat, where polling is scheduled for May 13 in the fourth phase of the elections.

Following Bam's withdrawal, Kailash Vijayvargiya, a senior BJP leader and MLA from Indore, extended an invitation to Bam to join the BJP. Vijayvargiya expressed his welcome on X, formerly known as Twitter, stating, “We welcome Shri Akshay Kanti Bam ji, Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Indore to BJP, under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, National President JP Nadda, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, and State President VD Sharma.” He also posted a photo with Bam in a car.

Earlier in the month, the Congress faced another electoral setback when their Surat candidate, Nilesh Kumbhani, had to exit the race after his nomination was disqualified due to discrepancies found in the signatures of his proposers by the district returning officer. The party's alternative candidate for Surat, Suresh Padsala, also had his nomination form rejected.

In light of these consecutive setbacks, Kumbhani alleged that he received insufficient support from his party colleagues during his campaign. In response, the Congress accused him of orchestrating the nomination issue as part of a "plan," resulting in his suspension from the party for six years.

Additionally, a total of eight candidates, mainly independents and including Pyarelal Bharti from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), withdrew their nominations from Surat. Consequently, on April 22, the BJP's Mukesh Dalal won the Surat constituency uncontested, marking the BJP’s first victory in this Lok Sabha election cycle.

The rest of Gujarat's constituencies are set to vote on May 7 in the third phase, with results announced on June 4.

(With inputs from PTI)