It seems like Kamal Nath’s impending exit from politics will be far from graceful or rather a fall from grace. After losing to the BJP in Madhya Pradesh (MP) with dismal numbers, top Congress leadership in Delhi has reportedly ordered the former MP CM to step down, India TV wrote.
The BJP secured a comfortable majority with 163 seats while Congress trailed abysmally with 66 seats. The defeat on 3rd December has put a stamp on Kamal Nath’s diminishing leadership in the state particularly after what the state witnessed in 2018 and 2020.
The Congress in the 2018 elections won 114 seats, two short of the majority mark. The party took support from the independent candidates, Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) to form a government that struggled for a year. The power tussle between Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia proved fatal for the Congress government in MP. Scindia defected to the BJP paving way for Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in 2020.
One would think that Kamal Nath would look to avenge his defeat albeit he barely appeared active during the election campaign, far from campaigning mood even as the Congress had declared him the CM face.
Following Congress’s defeat, Kamal Nath addressed the media saying that he accepts the mandate of the people and congratulated the BJP. He chaired a review meeting of Congress candidates.
Now, reports quoting sources claim that the former MP CM may tender his resignation as MP Congress chief in his meeting with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. The senior Congress leader reportedly spoke to Rahul Gandhi on call following the defeat.
India Today quoting sources claims that the Congress leadership is upset over Kamal Nath’s remarks against several leaders of the INDI Alliance including Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar over seat sharing.
The Samajwadi Party too has blamed Kamal Nath for Congress’s loss. SP spokesperson Manoj Singh Yadav reportedly said, “Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath gave an indecent statement against the SP chief. He called the SP chief, who has been a four-time MP and the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh as ‘Akhilesh-Vishesh’ due to which not only Madhya Pradesh, but the people of Bahujan class and backward classes were hurt, and its adverse effect was reflected in the results.”
Despite everything, Kamal Nath did appear unaccepting of the result. Expressing surprise at the results, he reportedly said that the public mood was in Congress’s favour. He said, “Some MLAs are telling me that they did not get 50 votes in their own village. How is that possible?”
It is notable here that though officially Mallikarjun Kharge is Congress President, ‘high command’ in Congress essentially means Sonia Gandhi and her children.