However, Jyotiraditya Scindia is sure of the BJP’s victory in the bypolls.
NEW DELHI: Congress’ former president Rahul Gandhi is banking on Kamal Nath for bypolls in Madhya Pradesh. The Gandhi scion believes that Kamal will not let the BJP’s “lotus” (Kamal) bloom properly in the state.
What he means is that the Congress led by Nath will win as many seats as is necessary to make it impossible for the BJP to run the government for a full term in MP.
It goes without saying that it is not the Congress, but Kamal Nath who is contesting by-elections in MP. Sources said that this fight of Kamal Nath is not limited to the bypolls alone—if the outcome favours the Congress, then it is okay, otherwise, he will continue to fight till 2023.
On the other side, former Congress stalwart and now a BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia is sure of the party’s victory in the bypolls. One of the reasons is that he has tremendous clout in the Chambal and Gwalior region. Secondly, he is not the only big BJP leader from this region. Around half a dozen bigwigs come from this area under Scindia’s influence.
The BJP high command and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan are not taking any chances for the 3 November bypolls. With such a formidable challenge ahead, if Kamal Nath manages to show some miracle, it will be the greatest achievement of his political career spanning around four decades. In such a case, Nath will be able to give Congress a fresh lease of life.
But it is not easy for Kamal Nath. It is an uphill task for the former MP Chief Minister. Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh is seen cooperating with Kamal Nath in this fight, but the camaraderie of yesteryears is missing. Nath is not willing to trust anyone much for the bypolls on 28 seats because he feels that his government fell due to overreliance on others.
The blame of fall of the Kamal Nath government is laid at the door of Jyotiraditya Scindia, but an atmosphere for the same was created by those close to him only. Now, Nath wants to settle political scores with rivals by winning the bypolls. That is why he has taken full control of the election and is giving tickets to the candidates of his choice only. Last week, Nath visited Delhi and explained all his politics to Rahul Gandhi. According to sources, Rahul Gandhi looked satisfied with Kamal Nath. He has assured Nath that he would campaign in MP. Kamal Nath has made a plan that Rahul Gandhi should visit MP along with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for campaigning.
Nath is not fighting this political battle for himself alone. He is eyeing the future of his son Nakul Nath also and does not want, therefore, to loosen grip over politics of MP. He knows the Digvijaya Singh is making efforts to promote his son in state politics. The youth leader of the Congress such as Jeetu Patwari also expects a lot as regards his career as he is loyal to Nath’s camp. That the infighting in Congress will end can be taken with a pinch of salt. Scindia was also fighting on two fronts in the Congress. However, there are several camps in BJP too. But Scindia is keeping himself away from this factionalism and keeping himself close to Sangh (RSS) and high command of the party. Scindia’s attempt is that he ensures victory in all the seats of his area and adjoining region. He is trying to create an atmosphere of a collective campaign. He got the BJP leaders to announce several sops before election related announcements were made. Now that the date of voting has been announced, Scindia will be visiting MP again seeking votes for the BJP candidates.