The 2024 Lok Sabha elections are drawing near, and as many as five states are gearing up for assembly elections. At this critical juncture when the Congress-led I.N.D.I. Alliance is falling like a pack of cards, the grand old party may have thought that the only thing that could save the grand old party from imminent doom is the support of media and journalists. This is probably why Congress is attempting to make amends and turning back to the news anchors and journalists it had recently ‘boycotted.’
On Friday, November 3, Times Now senior anchor Navika Kumar, who had in September this year, made it to the I.N.D.I Alliance list of ‘boycotted’ journalists, took to X to share pictures of her accompanying Congress senior leader Kamal Nath on his campaigning trail.
On the campaign trail with @OfficeOfKNath who looks bright and fresh for the battle of Madhya Pradesh. You really can’t believe that after 44 yrs in politics his energy & enthusiasm are unabated. Excerpts coming Coming up tonight on @thenewshour @9 & also on #FranklySpeaking over… pic.twitter.com/8Or75k6Ldh
— Navika Kumar (@navikakumar) November 3, 2023
“On the campaign trail with @OfficeOfKNath who looks bright and fresh for the battle of Madhya Pradesh. You really can’t believe that after 44 yrs in politics his energy & enthusiasm are unabated. Excerpts coming Coming up tonight on @thenewshour @9 & also on #FranklySpeaking over the weekend.
Nevertheless, here we could remind the grand old party that the I.N.D.I Alliance had as recently as on September 14 released a list of 14 news anchors whom they have decided to ‘boycott’ and Times Now anchor Navika Kumar was one of these 14 news anchors whom the Congress-led opposition bloc had chosen to boycott. A copy of the list was shared on X, formally Twitter by Congress leader Pawan Khera on September 14.
The decision was probably taken because the I.N.D.I alliance wanted to avoid answering some tough questions from these journalists. However, most likely as a consequence of the growing fissures in the opposition bloc, Congress has realized that it does require the assistance of the media in order to stay in the game. This is probably why the grand old party has been compelled to alter its mind.
Moreover, Kamal Nath is pitching himself as the CM candidate for Congress in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls. Randeep Surjewala, a prominent Congress leader, had last month dropped hints regarding the potential Chief Ministerial candidate for the forthcoming Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly Polls. Following the Central Election Committee meeting held at the Congress Party headquarters in Delhi on October 7, Surjewala suggested that Kamal Nath, the current president of Madhya Pradesh Congress, could be the natural face of the party in the state.
This explains why Kamal Nath also decided to ignore the fact that his party had just “boycotted” Times Now journalist Navika Kumar and brought her along on the campaign trail.
