Senior Congress leader, former Madhya Pradesh CM and Nine times MP, Kamal Nath arrived in the national capital, Delhi on Saturday afternoon amid speculation that he might switch to the BJP, marking another setback to Congress.
If he joins BJP, Kamal Nath will become the tenth former Congress Chief Minister to depart from the party in the past decade. He will join the list including Ashok Chavan, who recently switched to the BJP, as well as Mukul Sangma (Meghalaya), Amarinder Singh (Punjab), Ghulam Nabi Azad (Jammu and Kashmir), Vijay Bahuguna (Uttarakhand), the late Ajit Jogi (Chhattisgarh), S M Krishna (Karnataka), Narayan Rane (Maharashtra), and Giridhar Gamang (Odisha), who recently rejoined the party.
Possible Reasons to Switch?
Media reports suggest that the senior leader is contemplating a party switch due to the Congress' decision not to offer him a Rajya Sabha ticket. Sources within the Congress in Bhopal indicate that Kamal Nath had been eyeing for a Rajya Sabha seat. However, the party opted to nominate Ashok Singh, who is a trusted ally of Digvijaya Singh and serves as the State Congress treasurer, for the position.
These sources indicated that the Congress leadership perceives they have made significant efforts to accommodate Kamal Nath's preferences but ultimately believes he is being unreasonable.
Congress held Kamal Nath responsible for the downfall of the Madhya Pradesh government, stating that his refusal to collaborate with individuals from Delhi sent by the Congress even after being granted another opportunity and being designated as the face of the recently conducted state assembly elections.
What Fueled the Speculations?
Despite speculation about his potential switch to the BJP, Nath, upon reaching Delhi from Chhindwara on Saturday afternoon, without denying the speculation responded to reporters' questions about joining the BJP by stating, "It is not about denying, you are saying this, you people are getting excited. I am not getting excited, this side or that side,
He stated,”If there would be any such thing. I would inform you first.”
Rumours intensified when Kamal Nath’s son and Chhindwara Lok Sabha member Nakul Nath removed ‘Congress’ from his official social media handles. This comes just a day after the Madhya Pradesh BJP chief publicly stated that some Congress leaders are unhappy with the party's decisions.
Sajjan Singh Verma, a former State Minister and a close associate of Mr. Nath, who also removed 'Congress' from his X bio, remarked that if a leader of Mr. Nath's stature contemplated leaving his party, it would be out of a sense of honor and self-respect. He stated that if a party fails to honor such leaders, it reflects the party's weakness, allowing individuals the freedom to make their decisions.
Earlier in the day, speculation regarding Kamal Nath's potential switch heightened when his former media advisor and BJP spokesperson Narendra Saluja shared a photo of the former Chief Minister and his son in Bhopal, captioned, "Jai Shri Ram."
Congress denies Rumours
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh stated in Jabalpur earlier in the day, "I spoke to Kamal Nath at 10.30 pm yesterday, he is in Chhindwara."
He added that "how could we expect the man who started his political career with the Nehru-Gandhi family, to leave?"
"We should not even expect such a thing," he said.
Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari refuted the speculations, deeming them "baseless." He emphasized Kamal Nath's longstanding association with the Congress since the 1970s, highlighting his friendship with Sanjay Gandhi, which gained attention when they attended Dehradun's Doon School together.
Patwari emphasised, "When Kamal Nath contested elections for the first time in 1980, Indira Gandhi referred to him as her third son... Can anyone even imagine that Indira Gandhi's third son would depart from the Congress?"
He also dismissed reports of Kamal Nath's discontent over not receiving a Rajya Sabha ticket, noting that it was the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister who proposed Ashok Singh's candidacy. Singh, who serves as the state party unit's treasurer, filed his nomination for the polls on Thursday.
Jitu Patwari assumed the position of Madhya Pradesh Congress chief after the party secured only 66 seats in the recently conducted state Assembly elections, replacing Kamal Nath.
Kamal Nath and Gandhi Family
Kamal Nath has personal connections with the Gandhi Family, dating back to the era of Indira Gandhi. Nath, who was a classmate of Sanjay Gandhi at Doon School, entered the Youth Congress in the 1970s and swiftly emerged as a prominent figure within Sanjay's inner circle, alongside individuals like Jagmohan, V C Shukla, Bansi Lal, Om Mehta, Jagdish Tytler, and later Akbar Dumpy Ahmad. This group, often criticized for its role during and after the Emergency, has faced blame for various shortcomings.
Nath, originally from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, was granted the Chhindwara seat in Madhya Pradesh in the 1980 Lok Sabha elections as a token of appreciation for his association with Sanjay. Chhindwara, along with Nagaur in Rajasthan, were the sole seats won by the Congress in the 1977 elections following the Emergency, during which the party suffered heavy losses in the Hindi heartland. Since then, Nath has secured victory in nine Lok Sabha elections from Chhindwara, experiencing defeat only once.
Statement from MP BJP?
Madhya Pradesh BJP leaders, asserting that their "doors are open," have further fueled the speculation surrounding Kamal Nath's potential switch.
State BJP president V.D. Sharma emphasised on Friday that the party welcomes individuals who support Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP's leadership, especially those who are "disheartened by the Congress' disrespect toward Lord Ram."
(Inputs from Agencies)
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