Kamal Nath, who brought Congress back to power in Madhya Pradesh (2018) six months after it was sent from Delhi. He has complete control over the state party unit, however, the defeat in the assembly elections weakened his position in the party.
IANS spoke to several people, including Chhindwara, and some of them who had worked in Kamal Nath's team during the Assembly (2018, 2023) and recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, and their view was that after the Assembly defeat, he (Kamal Nath) was left alone and helpless.
However, the drama that played out from Bhopal to New Delhi after the Lok Sabha results damaged his credibility, especially when there was talk in political circles that Rahul Gandhi is angry with Kamal Nath and he does not have as much influence in the party as before.
This particular period came as a crucial moment for the BJP to corner Kamal Nath, who by then had already replaced Jitu Patwari as the state unit chief.Returning to power with 163 of the 230 assembly seats and seeing Kamal Nath struggling to find a place in his party, the BJP started strengthening its hold on his stronghold Chhindwara.
"BJP ruthlessly destroyed Kamal Nath's base in Chhindwara. They first snatched away grassroots level workers and then snatched away trusted allies. In most of the assembly constituencies, the entire team, which was working for Kamal Nath, BJP snatched it from us.“Replacement for the team broken by the BJP,” a person associated with Kamal Nath's team said on condition of anonymity.
He also claimed that the disloyalty of top Congress leaders did not have much impact on the ground as their credibility was questioned after they joined the BJP, but the massive transfer of grassroots Congress workers caused a lot of damage. .
Kamal Nath loyalist former MLA Deepak Saxena, who had resigned as MLA from Chhindwara parliamentary constituency in 2019 for Nath, had switched to the BJP ahead of the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, accusing Nakul Nath of insulting his senior colleagues. Was accused of doing. Father Kamal Nath.
Saxena then said that his loyalty would remain with Kamal Nath, but he would not support his son Nakul Nath, who does not even know how to behave with senior party leaders.
Chhindwara Mayor Vikram Ahake, for whom Kamal Nath had campaigned during the municipal elections in 2022, had also broken ties with him amid the campaign for the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.However, on polling day (19 April) Ahake was heard in a viral video appealing to people to support Kamal Nath.
Former journalist Piyush Bable, who is in charge of public relations in Kamal Nath's office, claimed that the Nath family has been left alone to contest the elections.
"He (Kamal Nath) did not get any support from the state or central leadership of the Congress. But, Kamal Nath kept saying that he has full faith in the people of Chhindwara, who are the only hope for all of us."
Asked why Kamal Nath did not come out to campaign for other Congress candidates even after Chhindwara went to polls in the first phase on April 19, Bable said, “No one has contacted him.,
Responding to discussions that losing to the BJP in Chhindwara could be the end of Kamal Nath's politics, Bable said, "For someone who has been in politics for more than 50 years, and has seen many ups and downs, A defeat is not possible." To impress him."
Kamal Nath had represented Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat nine times, while his wife Alka Nath and son Nakul Nath once each.
Nakul was the only Congress MP from Madhya Pradesh in the last term of the Lok Sabha, however, he lost to BJP's Vivek Bunty Sahu in 2024.
IANS spoke to several people, including Chhindwara, and some of them who had worked in Kamal Nath's team during the Assembly (2018, 2023) and recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, and their view was that after the Assembly defeat, he (Kamal Nath) was left alone and helpless.
However, the drama that played out from Bhopal to New Delhi after the Lok Sabha results damaged his credibility, especially when there was talk in political circles that Rahul Gandhi is angry with Kamal Nath and he does not have as much influence in the party as before.
This particular period came as a crucial moment for the BJP to corner Kamal Nath, who by then had already replaced Jitu Patwari as the state unit chief.Returning to power with 163 of the 230 assembly seats and seeing Kamal Nath struggling to find a place in his party, the BJP started strengthening its hold on his stronghold Chhindwara.
"BJP ruthlessly destroyed Kamal Nath's base in Chhindwara. They first snatched away grassroots level workers and then snatched away trusted allies. In most of the assembly constituencies, the entire team, which was working for Kamal Nath, BJP snatched it from us.“Replacement for the team broken by the BJP,” a person associated with Kamal Nath's team said on condition of anonymity.
He also claimed that the disloyalty of top Congress leaders did not have much impact on the ground as their credibility was questioned after they joined the BJP, but the massive transfer of grassroots Congress workers caused a lot of damage. .
Kamal Nath loyalist former MLA Deepak Saxena, who had resigned as MLA from Chhindwara parliamentary constituency in 2019 for Nath, had switched to the BJP ahead of the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, accusing Nakul Nath of insulting his senior colleagues. Was accused of doing. Father Kamal Nath.
Saxena then said that his loyalty would remain with Kamal Nath, but he would not support his son Nakul Nath, who does not even know how to behave with senior party leaders.
Chhindwara Mayor Vikram Ahake, for whom Kamal Nath had campaigned during the municipal elections in 2022, had also broken ties with him amid the campaign for the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.However, on polling day (19 April) Ahake was heard in a viral video appealing to people to support Kamal Nath.
Former journalist Piyush Bable, who is in charge of public relations in Kamal Nath's office, claimed that the Nath family has been left alone to contest the elections.
"He (Kamal Nath) did not get any support from the state or central leadership of the Congress. But, Kamal Nath kept saying that he has full faith in the people of Chhindwara, who are the only hope for all of us."
Asked why Kamal Nath did not come out to campaign for other Congress candidates even after Chhindwara went to polls in the first phase on April 19, Bable said, “No one has contacted him.,
Responding to discussions that losing to the BJP in Chhindwara could be the end of Kamal Nath's politics, Bable said, "For someone who has been in politics for more than 50 years, and has seen many ups and downs, A defeat is not possible." To impress him."
Kamal Nath had represented Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat nine times, while his wife Alka Nath and son Nakul Nath once each.
Nakul was the only Congress MP from Madhya Pradesh in the last term of the Lok Sabha, however, he lost to BJP's Vivek Bunty Sahu in 2024.
