New MP Congress chief says the party is united, and will work together to do what it hasn’t done in three assembly elections in the state — beat the BJP.
New Delhi: No differences, no rifts, only unity — that’s the message from Kamal Nath, the new president of the Madhya Pradesh Congress, in the run up to the assembly elections later this year.
Hours after taking up the mantle, the 71-year-old nine-time MP from Chhindwara told ThePrint that he would take every one along, despite the year-long suspense on who would lead the party into the state elections. Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia were the prime contenders for the post.
“Scindia ji is the chairman of the campaign committee, and we all shall work together to ensure an election victory for the party in the state,” he said.
“All the senior leaders of the state are united and ready to take on the BJP government. Reports of rifts between leaders are created by the media.”
United we stand
Congress sources said no chief ministerial face would be projected for the election, and Nath added: “Madhya Pradesh doesn’t need one ‘face’. We need many faces and leaders. It’s a large and complex state, and a united effort by all the leaders would make the party successful.”
Accordingly, the party has appointed four working presidents who would assist Nath — Ramnivas Rawat, Bala Bachchan, Jitu Patwari and Surendra Choudhary.
Size of the task at hand
The Congress has not been in power in the state for 15 years. In 2013, it could win only 38 of the state’s 230 seats, followed by just two out of 29 in the Lok Sabha elections the year after.
In addition, the party is riddled with factionalism, but Nath is confident the problems can be tackled and the Congress revived.
“This is for the first time that all sections of the society are unhappy and angry with a state government. Be it farmers, youth, labourers or government employees,” he said.
“Congress leaders, including me, have been working for the people of Madhya Pradesh regularly. The recent by-election results have proved that people want to get rid of Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s government.”
Chouhan actually offered Nath his congratulations on Twitter, to which the new state Congress chief responded “I accept his greetings”, before quipping: “He must be tired now, after working hard for 15 years. I will make sure he gets some rest after the assembly elections.”
मित्र श्री कमलनाथ जी को @INCMP के प्रदेश अध्यक्ष बनने पर हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ। @OfficeOfKN
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) April 26, 2018