BJP national vice president Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday, 25 May, said his party was not interested in bringing down the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh but cannot help if it falls on its own.
The BJP has won 28 out of 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the just-concluded general polls and there has been speculation about the longevity of the Congress-led government in the state which is in power due to the support of BSP, SP and Independent MLAs.
“The BJP doesn’t believe in any kind of horse trading, but there are contradictions within the Congress. We are not interested in bringing down the (MP) government but BJP can’t help if it falls on its own,” Chouhan told reporters at a meet-the-press event here.
"After the ticket distribution, a BSP candidate joined the Congress. Possibly, Mayawati ji can take this seriously or something happens within (the Congress). I am telling you the truth, if we wanted, we would not have allowed (Congress) to form the government," he said.
During the Lok Sabha elections, the BSP's Guna candidate Lokendra Singh had opted out of the race and joined the Congress extending support to Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Later, in a tweet, BSP supremo Mayawati threatened to withdraw support to the Kamal Nath government.
In the 2018 Assembly polls, the Congress had emerged as the single-largest party with 114 seats, two short of the simple majority mark of 116 seats, in the 230-member Assembly.
The Congress then formed the government in the state with the support of two BSP, one SP and four Independent MLAs.
The BJP, in power since 2003, had got 109 seats.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)