Will Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Kamal Nath switch to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Lok Sabha Election 2024? Amid speculations, several reports claimed that the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister could be upset with the Congress leadership. NDTV quoted sources as saying on Saturday that “Kamal Nath has conveyed his unhappiness to the Congress leadership”.
Here’s a look at possible reasons which might have impacted ties between “Indira Gandhi’s third son” Kamal Nath and the Congress leadership:
1. Hints of Kamla Nath being ‘insulted’
A close aide of Kamal Nath, Sajjan Singh Verma said when a “big politician” decides to sever ties with his organisation, then “all three factors work behind it”. He said three things work in politics — “maan, apmaan and swabhimaan (respect, insult and self-respect)”.
“When these factors are hurt, a person changes his decisions…When such a top politician who has done a lot for Congress and the nation in the last 45 years, thinks of moving away from his party, then all three factors work behind it,” Sajjan Singh told news agency ANI.
He, however, said no decision has been taken yet on Kamal Nath leaving the Congress. “…right there is just speculation,” he added. “A person who dedicated 45 years to Congress, if somewhere we are not able to respect that person, then it is the weakness of that political party. That’s why a person is free to take his own decision,” he added.
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2. Kamal Nath not nominated for Rajya Sabha
There are speculations that Kamal Nath might also be “unhappy” over not being nominated for the Rajya Sabha elections this year. However, sources told NDTV that this wasn’t true. They were quoted as saying that the former chief minister had pushed for Ashok Singh’s nomination from Madhya Pradesh and did not want Meenakshi Natarajan to be nominated. Natarajan was reportedly Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s pick for the Upper House.
3. Securing future of son Nakul Nath?
If sources are to be believed, one of the reasons for Kamal Nath purportedly joining the Congress could be about securing his son’s future in the political arena. Aajtak cited sources as saying that Kamal Nath wants his son to be given a “big responsibility” in the BJP.
Nakul Nath might also switch to the BJP, along with his father, reports claimed on Saturday. He is an MP from Chhindwara.
4. Kamal replaced as MP Congress chief
Kamal Nath was replaced by Jitu Patwari as the president of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee in December last year. This was soon after the Congress faced defeat in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Elections 2023.
The BJP retained power in Madhya Pradesh after winning 163 of the total 230 assembly seats in the state. The Congress won 66 seats and the Bharat Adivasi Party bagged one seat in the 2023 state election.
5. Kamal Nath blamed for Congress’ poll debacle?
“Kamal Nath had been in touch with BJP leaders since the Congress high command blamed him for the party’s debacle in Madhya Pradesh polls,” a sources told the Hindustan Times.
Meanwhile, Aajtak cited its sources saying that Congress leadership believes Nath was chosen as the Chief Minister in place of Jyotiraditya Scindia, but he could not handle the government. They said that it was because of Nath’s “stubbornness” that a few leaders switched to the BJP, leading to the collapse of Kamal Nath-led government in 2020.
The party reportedly said that the recently-concluded assembly elections were fought with Kamal Nath as the Congress’s face and still party lost elections to the BJP.
According to the report, Kamal Nath refused to co-operate with any party leader from Delhi to Madhya Pradesh. He had “sidelined” senior leader Jai Parkash Aggarwal. Moreover, Kamal Nath continued to make decisions related to campaigning and ticket distribution in the assembly elections, Aajtak reported.
Speculation is rife that the former Madhya Pradesh Congress chief might ditch the Congress and switch to the BJP. He reached Delhi on Saturday, reportedly to meet the BJP leadership there. Sources told NDTV that Kamal Nath has not met Union Home Minister Amit Shah or Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “and has only heard leaders like BJP Madhya Pradesh President VD Sharma saying that he is welcome to join the BJP”.
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Published: 17 Feb 2024, 08:56 PM IST