BJP’s two-time sitting MLA Sanjay Sharma joined the opposition Congress party in presence of national party president Rahul Gandhi at Indore on Tuesday.

Sharma, the two-time BJP legislator from Tendukheda seat of Narsinghpur district is presently the third richest MLA in MP, with assets worth Rs 65 crores, as declared by him during the 2013 assembly polls. He had won from Tendukheda seat in 2003 and 2013.

Sharma who was accompanied by senior Congress leader Suresh Pachouri joined the Congress in presence of all top leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, MP Congress chief Kamal Nath and state party’s campaign committee chief Jyotiraditya Scindia.

It, however, remains to be seen whether he gets the Congress ticket to contest the polls from Tendukheda or not, particularly as the Congress national president had made it clear during his September 17 tour of Bhopal that no paratroopers (those joining the Congress from BJP or other parties) will be fielded as party candidates in the coming assembly polls in MP.

On Tuesday morning, while interacting with media editors in Indore, Rahul had dropped hints about some exceptions likely to his no-paratroopers allowed formula in the November 28 polls in MP.

Sources within the ruling BJP said, Sharma has joined the Congress, sensing that he would not be fielded this time by BJP from Tendukheda seat. The Lok Sabha member from Hoshangabad constituency Rao Udai Pratap Singh is likely to be fielded from Tendukheda assembly seat this time by the ruling party.

If Sharma is at all fielded by the Congress from Tendukheda, then his battle with Udai Pratap Singh of BJP would be an intriguing clash.

Talking to journalists in Indore after joining the Congress, Sharma said he was feeling suffocated in BJP under the leadership of CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. “No development work was taking place in my constituency, only lip service was being done by the CM and state government in my constituency,” said Sharma.