A total of 2,932 candidates filed nominations out of which 578 were rejected and 538 withdrew their papers.

HIGHLIGHTS

• BJP has expelled 64 of its rebel leaders
• Congress is still in talks with its expelled members
• A total of 2,932 candidates have filed nominations

Days before Madhya Pradesh assembly election on November 28, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has expelled 64 of its rebel leaders including former ministers Sartaj Singh, Ram Krishan Kusmaria and former Gwalior mayor Sameeksha Pandey.

The Congress, on the other hand, is still in talks with its expelled members hoping they would announce their support to the official candidates in the next few days.

A total of 2,932 candidates filed nominations out of which 578 were rejected and 538 withdrew their papers.

Though the BJP claimed to pacify most of the rebels, it could not convince Ram Krishna Kusmaria who has filed his papers as an independent candidate from two seats.

Kusmaria has been an MP thrice and has also served as a minister in the Shivraj Singh government between 2008 and 2013. The BJP even sent its national vice president Prabhat Kha to pacify Kusmaria but he refused to budge.

"The party had sent me to pacify Kusmaria but he did not meet me. Now, it is for the party to decide what to do," Prabhat Jha told India Today TV.

For the Congress, Xavier Meena, a former minister from Jhabu is the most prominent rebel.

Meena, after being denied the Congress ticket is now contesting as an independent candidate against Kanti Lal Bhuria’s son Vikrant Bhuria. The party is also facing a rebel in neighbouring Alirajpur where Kantilal Bhuria’s niece Kalvati Bhuria has been made the Congress nominee.

"We have succeeded in pacifying most of the rebels and if the ones who have not withdrawn their nominations do not announce their support for the official candidate, the party will take disciplinary action," Narendra Saluja, spokesman of Congress said.