According to reports it is now a settled affair that Congress leader Kamal Nath will head the party in Madhya Pradesh in the run-up to the state elections due this year. It is claimed that the Congress high command took almost a year to arrive at this decision, given the tussle for supremacy between the party’s young and old guard.
Young leader and party chief whip in Lok Sabha Jyotiraditya Scindia was contending with Nath for the top Congress job, a keen battle that supposedly resulted in the decision being delayed by almost a year. Scindia also led the Congress charge in key by-polls that the party won.
Scindia is likely to be named the chairman of the campaign committee, while senior leader and former chief minister Digvijaya Singh would be the chairman of the coordination committee, claimed reports. Its also believed that Kamal Nath also had the backing of Senior congress leader Digvijay Singh.
The Congress has been out of power in Madhya Pradesh for 14 years and hopes to capitalise on the anti-incumbency of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government. The party believes Kamal Nath, known for his shrewd manoeuvring skills, may come in handy against Chouhan, who is known for his excellent connect with the people.
This isn’t the first time Veteran congress leader Kamal Nath has made headlines for election responsibilities entrusted to him. In 2016 Nath was appointed as the Punjab in-charge ahead of the state elections which prompted rival political parties to rake rake up his alleged role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Following this controversy, Nath soon resigned from his Punjab post. This led the BJP to allege that his resignation proved his complicity in the riots.
1984 riots though continue to haunt Nath. Back in January, in light of the Supreme Court’s decision to re-probe 186 cases connected to the riots, the Supreme court advocate HS Phoolka slammed him by commenting that the law would soon catch up with “powerful and influential people like Congress leader Kamal Nath”.
