Congress Managers Relieved as Kamal Nath Tells High Command He Is Not Quitting

“Kamal Nath is a veteran, who has been close to the Gandhi family for decades. He contributed a lot to the party in various capacities and is committed to Congress ideology. I don’t think he is going anywhere,” AICC general secretary in-charge of Madhya Pradesh Jitendra Singh told ETV Bharat's Amit Agnihotri.

New Delhi:Congress managers heaved a sigh of relief on Monday after veteran Kamal Nath told the high command that he was not going anywhere. “Kamal Nath is a veteran, who has been close to the Gandhi family for decades. He contributed a lot to the party in various capacities and is committed to Congress ideology. I don’t think he is going anywhere,” AICC general secretary in-charge of Madhya Pradesh Jitendra Singh told ETV Bharat.

The AICC functionary’s remarks came after days of intense speculation both in the media as well as within the party over reports that former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath was miffed with the Congress and planning to join the BJP, along with his son Nakul Nath, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Chhindwara seat. It was also feared that Kamal Nath would take several MLAs and senior leaders, along with him.

According to party insiders, the reports of Kamal Nath leaving ahead of the Lok Sabha polls had concerned party president Mallikarjun Kharge, who asked the crisis managers, to resolve the issue. Subsequently, a series of behind-the-scenes communication took place between the Congress trouble shooters and Kamal Nath over the past 24 hours.

According to party insiders, Kamal Nath was upset that he was replaced with a younger Jitu Patwari as the new state unit chief after the Congress lost the recent assembly polls to the BJP. Besides, the veteran was denied a Rajya Sabha seat when he presented his case before Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The veteran also wanted an assurance that Lok Sabha ticket from his bastion Chhindwara will again be given to his son Nakul Nath, who had dropped the mention of Congress from his bio on social media platform X a few days ago.

“Kamal Nath was given a clear message that there will be no negotiations for any position or party ticket. Kamal Nath was also told that it will not be okay if his son Nakul Nath joined the BJP and the former chief minister stayed back in the Congress citing loyalty factor,” a senior AICC functionary said. “Besides, the prospect of Kamal Nath joining the BJP would have caused a lot of heartburn among the saffron party leaders in the state. He would not have been a major gain for the BJP, which is strong in the state,” he said.

At the state level, Kamal Nath was asked to deploy his supporter and senior leader Sajjan Singh Verma to issue a public denial that the former Chief Minister was very much in the Congress. Verma met Kamal Nath and did the needful. According to party insiders, Kamal Nath, who was the Chief Minister in 2018, could not ensure a decent performance for the Congress in the 2019 national elections in which the BJP won 28 out of 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh. Kamal Nath could manage to win only one Lok Sabha seat, Chhindwara from where his son Nakul Nath was the Congress candidate.

To send a positive message across the state, the high command has now called a meeting of all party MLAs and senior leaders in capital Bhopal on February 20 and has also asked Kamal Nath to attend the same. “We will discuss preparations for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. This time we are not going to let the parliamentary polls be a one-sided affair. The Congress will put up good candidates and we will certainly improve our tally,” Jitendra Singh said.