Finally, the speculation over the chief ministerial post in Madhya Pradesh got settled with Kamal Nath being chosen as the next Chief Minister of the state. He is known to be a Congress loyalist and assumed to be so close to the Nehru-Gandhi family that Indira Gandhi referred to him as her ‘third son’. Whereas Congress party workers and the other opposition parties call him ‘Dilli darbari’, this third son brings a huge amount of experience to the table for the party, one that has seen many storms come and pass by. He kept himself deep-rooted in Madhya Pradesh that even the 2014 Narendra Modi tsunami failed to displace him. Kamal Nath has been a warrior; he has been patient and has served the party for the longest time. He has been a member of the Lok Sabha for nine terms and represented Chindwara for 37 successive years. The people of Chhindwara respect him the most and this time they stood by Congress as they are doing it for years. Kamal Nath to take charge in Madhya Pradesh as the next CM was a good news. However, since Jyotiraditya Scindia is a young hardworking leader, he has age and time in his hand. He can mature himself in politics to reach the peaks of state politics. However, we should appreciate him for having accepted the Deputy CM post and together both these leaders should work cordially and at no point of time have any sort of disagreements thus spoiling the image of the Congress party.
The narrow victory margin of the Congress, which has to rely upon other MLAs to win the vote of confidence and continue in power, required a Chief Minister who would be accessible to all the groups and be able to build bridges. Kamal Nath, more than anyone else has well-wishers in all communities across the state and beyond. What is more, Congress would be hoping to repeat the performance and actually improve upon it in the Lok Sabha elections, which are barely four months away. Changing the horse at this stage made little sense. Kamal Nath at the helm is clearly seen as a more formidable leader to take on the BJP and the RSS in the general election. The third factor, which would have weighed in his favour is his vast administrative experience at the Centre. He is acknowledged to have been an efficient Union Minister and quite outstandingly, no serious controversy or corruption scam has dogged his ministerial stints.
Indeed people still recall his skilful handling of India’s cause and interests in international fora as the Union Environment Minister.
Madhya Pradesh would look forward to some of that skill as he tackles the formidable task of addressing farmers’ issues as well as employment generation. Many central ministers of BJP and almost all state cabinet ministers campaigned for the BJP candidates. Shivraj Singh Chouhan had left no stone unturned to ensure his party’s win. He was hopeful until the last moment; but this time, the voters of the state were really not in favour of him. The MP Chief Minister didn’t even mind bending before Yashodhara Raje Scindia in his efforts to ensure BJP’s victory. The differences between Yashodhara and Chouhan is no secret. Chouhan had diminished the stature of Yashodhara in the cabinet expansion last year. The Ministry Of Commerce and Industry had been snatched from Yashodhara, who was given the more lightweight responsibility of sports and youth welfare instead.
Kolaras and Mungaoli both fall under the area of influence of the erstwhile Scindia royals, to which both Yashodhara Raje and her nephew Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia belong. Earlier, Yashodhara had maintained a distance from the election campaign. Then Shivraj, who sensed BJP’s likely defeat in the election, went to meet Yashodhara and personally invited her to participate in the campaign. After Yashodhara’s entry into the campaign, the competition went from ‘Scindia-vs-Shivraj’ to ‘Scindia vs Scindia’.
Congress won by 61 votes in the Sehrai polling booth, whereas BJP got 49 votes and Congress a whopping 490 votes from Panwari polling booth. This showed a continuing trend of declining popularity of Shivraj, which had become visible during the Chitrakoot Assembly bypoll also. Even then, Congress got a huge number of votes wherever the Chief Minister had campaigned.
On the other hand, Congress chose the right subjects, they could reach people with the right approach, Rahul Gandhi gave a magnificent performance; he connected to the people on the grassroot level. Beyond his efforts, Jyotiraditya and Kamal Nath were extraordinary in making it happen for Congress.
Kamal Nath, who was born in a business family in Kanpur, one of the richest businessmen in the state, he always had the option of joining the BJP. Businessmen do tend to align with the ruling parties. But remarkably again, Kamal Nath has stuck to the Congress through thick and thin. While people recall how Indira Gandhi would affectionately call him her third son, old slogans like “Indira Gandhi Ke Do haath, Sanjay Gandhi aur Kamal Nath” have resurfaced to highlight his loyalty to the Gandhi family. As an astute politician with loads of experience, Congress would expect him to avoid knee-jerk decisions. And one can almost predict that he would steer away from any kind of vendetta against politicians or bureaucrats. Indeed the practical experience and wisdom that he brings to the office would have been a key factor in his favour. His challenges are undoubtedly daunting. He would be expected to keep the different factions in the party united. With several party stalwarts like Ajay Singh, son of former chief minister Arjun Singh, having bitten the dust in the assembly election, it would be challenging to keep the unity intact. And finally, he would be expected by the Congress to prepare for the general election which is just around the corner and make the party battle-ready in three months. In this backdrop, it is hardly surprising that the choice of the Congress, the elected MLAs and the party high command has fallen on the 72-year-old to steer Madhya Pradesh through turbulence. The Congress has shown that the party is not going to rest on its laurels now.
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