New Delhi: With Madhya Pradesh Congress leaders declaring Kamal Nath as the chief ministerial candidate for the 2023 MP assembly elections last week, the party’s high command is in a bind.
Decisions such as announcing CM candidates are usually taken by the Gandhi family and the state leaders’ announcement is seen as tantamount to undermining their authority. So far, though, the central leadership has stayed silent, perhaps because of their equation with Nath.
Speaking to ThePrint, some senior Congress leaders said they were upset that Nath did not keep the party high command in the loop, but also noted that no action was likely since Nath is a “Gandhi loyalist”.
Kamal Nath, 75, who briefly served as the CM of MP until his government lost majority in March 2020, has been acting as an interlocutor between the Gandhis and the so-called G-21 (originally G-23), a group of senior leaders who have been demanding drastic organisational reforms in the party to decentralise the command-and-control system and make the decision-making process more democratic.
ThePrint contacted four AICC spokespersons for comment by calls and texts but they claimed they were not aware of the issue.
Several senior central leaders, however, said Nath’s CM candidature was not discussed with them, while others maintained that Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi would take the final call.
State leaders, however, claimed that Nath already came with an informal stamp of approval from the Gandhis.
ThePrint tried to contact Kamal Nath for a comment through phone calls and text messages, but is yet to get a response.
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A sudden announcement, ‘did not need consent of high command’
On 4 April, senior Madhya Pradesh leaders representing different factions in the state unit buried their differences to declare that the party would contest the next assembly election under the leadership of former CM Kamal Nath.
The decision was taken during a coordination meeting of the state unit at Nath’s residence. Those who attended the meeting included former CM Digvijaya Singh, former Union ministers Suresh Pachauri and Kantilal Bhuria, former Leader of Opposition Ajay Singh Rahul, former state Congress president Arun Yadav, former assembly speaker N.P. Prajapati, and former assembly deputy speaker Hina Kavre.
Soon afterwards, Arun Yadav took to Twitter to announce that “a very important meeting was convened today under the chairmanship of the president of Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee, respected Kamal Nath”.
“Against the misrule of BJP, the Congress party will fight the 2023 assembly elections under the leadership of respected Rahul Gandhi ji and Kamal Nath ji,” he said.
आज मध्यप्रदेश कांग्रेस कमेटी के अध्यक्ष आदरणीय कमलनाथ जी की अध्यक्षता में एक अति महत्वपूर्ण बैठक आहूत हुई ।
भाजपा के कुशासन के खिलाफ कांग्रेस पार्टी एकजुट होकर आदरणीय राहुल गांधी जी एवं कमलनाथ जी के नेतृत्व में 2023 का विधानसभा चुनाव लड़ेगी ।#Mission2023 pic.twitter.com/4JX19A0inB— Arun Subhash Yadav ?? (@MPArunYadav) April 4, 2022
Speaking to ThePrint, Madhya Pradesh Congress general secretary K.K. Mishra said that Kamal Nath was unanimously chosen as the CM candidate and that the people of MP saw him as a “visionary” leader.
When asked whether the protocol-breaking unilateral announcement might peeve the top leadership, Mishra said: “Kamal Nath is a national leader. He comes fourth… actually he comes second since he is older than Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. He does not need the consent of the party high command.”
Former state cabinet minister and current MP from Jabalpur, Tarun Bhanot, one of the senior leaders present at the meeting, expressed similar sentiments. “We chose him as the leader, but obviously this has the stamp of approval from the party high command — that is why he is leading the state,” he said.
When asked whether the move had the approval of the central leadership, Arun Yadav said it is the decision and the sentiment of the core committee of the Madhya Pradesh Congress.
“I was the one who proposed Kamal Nath ji’s name and all the senior leaders of the state unanimously decided that he should lead the party,” he added.
Scepticism about newfound ‘unity’ amid infighting
In a state Congress unit that has been beset with infighting, the move appears to be a sign of unity, but not everyone is buying it.
“The state leaders are aware that Nath is on good terms with the Gandhis. Even though the state leaders personally don’t want him to lead, they have no option but to go with the flow. However, it won’t take a minute for them to change if they get any reaction from the central leadership,” a central leader claimed.
Long-standing factional fights in the MP unit of the party led to Jyotiraditya Scindia and 22 Congress MLAs defecting to the BJP in 2020, leading to the collapse of the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government in the state.
The issue of infighting has not gone away. Just a few days ago, Nath faced flak after he issued a circular asking party workers to celebrate Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti this month. Congress MLA Arif Masood had apparently questioned why Ramzan was left out.
There have also been reports of a rift between Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh, as well as Arun Yadav and Ajay Singh being in a dissenting mood.
In this backdrop, the fact that a wide section of the state leadership committed to accepting Nath as their CM, should a Congress government be formed, could have the implicit approval of the high command.
According to sources, Congress president Sonia Gandhi is keen to foster collective leadership in MP to address the issue of infighting.
A committee headed by Kamal Nath was formed last week to oversee political affairs, but Congress sources said this was at Sonia Gandhi’s behest. Other than Nath, the committee comprises 20 senior leaders and two special members — Rajmani Patel and Vivek Tankha.
Many central leaders, nevertheless, believe that the Gandhis are in a “bind” regarding Kamal Nath.
A sticky spot for the Gandhis
Amid rumblings of discontent within the Congress and the emergence of the dissident G-21 faction, Kamal Nath is among the few senior leaders who have exuded confidence in the Gandhis’ ability to steer the party. This has put the high command in a difficult position, a central party leader said.
“Even if they want to, they can’t remove him as the state president. At one time, the names of two young leaders were doing the rounds, but again it has come to a halt. They (central leadership) have decided to fulfil a policy of ignoring such matters till they can. Elections in Madhya Pradesh are later next year so the central leadership has time till then,” another party leader said.
Other central leaders have expressed their unhappiness about the situation.
Speaking to ThePrint, some senior central leaders of the Congress said that Nath “should not have acted in haste” in making the announcement regarding the assembly polls, which are over a year away.
“The central leadership has been dragging its feet over resolving this issue for quite some time now. Kamal Nath is the state president as well as the CM face. He already holds two posts. What choice is left for other leaders? The issue should have been resolved during Jyotiraditya Scindia’s time itself but the central leadership kept mum and the situation is in front of everyone,” one of the central Congress leaders quoted above said.
“Rather than taking on the BJP in Madhya Pradesh and questioning their flawed policies, the state unit is keeping itself busy by focusing on leadership issues. We have seen how Kamal Nath literally gave the government away as he did not act in time,” he added.
Another central leader reasoned that the state leadership has only conveyed their decision and what the MLAs want, but a final decision will be taken by Sonia Gandhi.
“The state leadership has conveyed its decision. Generally, the Congress doesn’t declare the CM face, but, in case it is done, the party president will look at what the state leadership wants. A final decision will be by her,” he said.
However, he also pointed out that if the entire leadership in the state is pushing for Kamal Nath, it is unlikely that the Gandhis will have an issue with it.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
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