New Delhi/Bhopal: After Jyotiraditya Scindia's exit from the Congress in 2020 to join the BJP, the grand old party is set to face another political earthquake ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with speculations rife that former Chief Minister and party bigwig Kamal Nath along with his son and MP Nakul Nath is set to join the saffron party.
Sources say that Kamal Nath, whose first name translates to lotus and would go nicely with BJP's party symbol, is likely to switch over to the saffron party. Nath arrived in the national capital Saturday afternoon, a clear indication that he was up to something. In his brief interaction with reporters, he asked them not to get excited. Asked if he is joining the BJP, Nath said, "If there would be any such thing, I would inform you first."
When a reporter asked if he was not denying a possible switch, Nath said, "It is not about denying, you are saying this, you people are getting excited. I am not getting excited, this side or that side, but if there would be any such thing, I would inform you first." Amid these speculations, Nakul Nath has dropped his affiliation with the Congress on his X (formerly Twitter) bio.
Sources in Bhopal told ETV Bharat that Kamal Nath and his son may meet PM Modi either later tonight or on Sunday. While the same has not been officially confirmed, sources said Naths are not leaving Congress alone as 28 MLAs are also expected to bid adieu to the grand old party. If that happens, it will heavily damage the party and will lead to its defeat even in the Rajya Sabha election this month.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari denied that Kamal Nath was joining the saffron party. He recalled how former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had described Nath as her "third son" as he dismissed the speculation that the party veteran may jump the ship.
Nath's colleague in the party and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh also rubbished the rumours and dubbed them a "media creation".
"These talks about Kamal Nath are baseless. Indiraji had introduced Nath as her third son while addressing a public meeting (in Chhindwara) when he fought elections for the first time in 1980," Patwari told reporters here. "Can anyone dream of Indiraji's third son quitting Congress?" he questioned.
Over the past few days, Nath had been on a tour of his bastion Chhindwara, from where he had been an MP for nine terms. His son Nakul Nath won the seat in the 2019 polls, even as the BJP swept the remaining 28 seats in the state. Kamal Nath is said to be disgruntled over not getting a Rajya Sabha berth and also Rahul Gandhi has been opposed to him since the party lost the assembly polls late last year.
Nath was replaced as the party's Madhya Pradesh unit chief following its rout in the assembly polls, in which the BJP retained power winning 163 seats in the 230-member House. The Congress managed to win just 66 seats.
The speculations in political circles about Kamal Nath joining the BJP are getting stronger. His visit to Delhi comes at a time when BJP's national convention is going on in the national capital. Kamal Nath cancelled the conference to be held in Chhindwara and the meeting to be held in Tamia on February 18, sources said.
Senior journalist and political analyst Prakash Bhatnagar said that it was certain that a leader of Kamal Nath's stature would not go alone if he joined the BJP after failing to lead the Congress to win in the 2023 assembly elections. On Friday (Feb 16), BJP state President VD Sharma said that the doors of the BJP were open for Kamal Nath and his son.
Speculations about Kamal Nath and Nakul Nath joining the BJP have gained momentum for the last few days ever since Kamal Nath's reaction to Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam's entry into the BJP. "Everyone is independent. No one is tied to any political party," Nath had said.
Read More
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- Assembly Polls 2023 result: Kamal Nath wins Chhindwara but BJP's 'Kamal' blooms in Madhya Pradesh
