Bhopal, Nov 27 : Former Minister Ramniwas Rawat visited BJP headquarters in Bhopal and held a closed-door meeting with the party's state unit President V. D. Sharma on Wednesday.

This meeting came two days after Rawat blamed some persons within the BJP for his defeat in the recent Vijaypur Assembly bypolls, sparking a political controversy.

Rawat, who contested the Vijaypur bypolls on BJP's symbol, lost to Congress' Mukesh Malhotra by 7,364 votes.

The bypolls in Vijaypur and Budhni in Madhya Pradesh were held on November 13 and the results were announced on November 23.

After facing defeat in Vijaypur, the Assembly seat he previously represented six times as Congress MLA, Rawat alleged that a handful of individuals within the BJP conspired to defeat him.

"Some people believed that their influence would diminish if I succeeded. They left no stone unturned to ensure my defeat. These individuals misled the public and influenced core BJP members against me," Rawat said on Monday.

Sources told IANS that Rawat was summoned by state BJP president.

However, Rawat said that it was a formal meeting with Sharma and he would be ready to receive any role assigned to him in the party.

Sharma had already denied Rawat's claim of "sabotage", saying the BJP lost the Vijaypur bypolls but the margin of defeat of the party's candidate has reduced to 7,000 against 17,000 in the November 2023 Assembly elections.

However, this time, Rawat refrained from blaming anyone for his defeat, and said, 'Bhagya se zyada kuch nahi milta' (nothing beats luck).

Rawat said he has submitted his resignation from the ministry to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and will decide on it after returning from a foreign visit.

Meanwhile, Rawat's resignation as state Forest Minister has triggered discussions around a possible expansion of the Madhya Pradesh cabinet.

Currently, there are four vacant ministerial positions in the State Council of Ministers. After Rawat's defeat, the cabinet now has 30 ministers.

/IANS