Madhya Pradesh: Nath-Rahul Meet Stirs Political Rumours

Bhopal: The recent meeting of Congress veteran Kamal Nath with Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in Delhi has fuelled speculations over the former’s political future.

The meeting is viewed by the loyalists of the veteran leader as a ‘positive’ development for Mr Nath in the wake of his virtual marginalisation in the party following the disastrous show by Congress in the November 2023 Assembly in Madhya Pradesh.

He was leading the party in the polls then.

The former chief minister had also found him in an awkward situation when rumours over his crossing over to BJP started making rounds in the political circles a few weeks before the recently held Lok Sabha elections, although he denied such speculations ‘belatedly’.

Mr Nath was removed from the post of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president of Madhya Pradesh after the party suffered a debacle in the last Assembly elections in the state, leaving him sulking.

His son Nakul Nath’s defeat in Chhindwara, considered his pocket borough, in Madhya Pradesh in the last LS polls has also hit his standing in the party.

The AICC leadership has decided to give charge of Congress in Madhya Pradesh to second-line leaders by appointing former minister Jitu Patwari and tribal leader Umang Singhar as PCC president and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader respectively ahead of the last LS elections.

Interestingly, Mr Nath was seen confining himself to Chhindwara in the last LS polls to campaign for his son.

Congress had drawn a blank in LS polls in MP with BJP bagging all 29 seats.

Post Nath-Gandhi meeting, Congress circle here is rife with speculations that Mr Nath may have been given the option of taking up a role in Central politics, sources said.

He may have been asked to move out of Madhya Pradesh politics to pave way for the second-line leaders to take rein of the party in the state.

Talks are also going round in the party here that he may be assigned a role in firming up the I.N.D.I alliance-led by Congress by bringing more like-minded parties into its fold.

Interestingly, amid talks about his political future after his meeting with Mr Gandhi, Mr Nath landed in Bhopal from Delhi a couple of days ago and started meeting the local Congress workers and leaders, ‘as usually’, indicating his reservations over leaving state politics.