As Congress Fights to Make a Comeback, Kamal Nath Takes the Front Seat

Bumped out of power after a brief stint, the Congress party in Madhya Pradesh is gearing up to make a comeback in the year 2023, but the internal equations within the party may lead to a different picture, unlike the party’s ambitious goals.

For a while, Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief Kamal Nath has been calling the shots within the party. The 75-year-old is also giving out a loud and clear message that nothing can be decided in the party without his nod.

For a long time, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister has been holding two posts — party’s state head and also the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the MP assembly.

Even as voices craving for the designation crop up, nothing has been done so far and it is unlikely that the Leader of Opposition’s post would go to anyone else.

Internal Conflicts

Several party seniors, including Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh, have learned the lesson the hard way in the recent past. Many believe that it’s a direct fallout of the bitter experience the former Chhindwara MP faced after the 2018 assembly polls.

For one reason or the other, several party seniors are in a sulking mode of late. To start with, Digvijaya Singh, who had been walking along with the MPCC chief on a range of issues, seemed irked with a recent episode.

Singh had staged a protest close to the CM’s house after Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan allegedly did not offer him an appointment on Rajgarh farmers’ issues. Nath set tongues wagging after he said that he wasn’t aware of the dharna, making clear that he did not know about this key political development.

While Nath did join in, he had a brief chat with Chouhan at the state hanger. To add to that, days after the protest, the farmers led by Singh met the chief minister in the company of the MPCC chief.

Digivjaya Singh was then later heard in a viral video talking about the scattered approach of the party towards 2023, adding, “If we don’t fight collectively, Congress won’t return in power and leaders will find no workers in future.”

About the other key members

Lately, former MPCC chief Arun Yadav is also having tiffs with Nath. Yadav had made his resentment public after he was unceremoniously shunted as the party’s state head in the year 2018 as Nath took over. Since then, Yadav had not been visiting the MPCC office and also skips party meetings. Nath too has ‘returned the favour’ as both he and Digvijaya Singh ensured Lok Sabha bypoll ticket to Rajnarayan Singh while Yadav was seen as a sure candidate for the same.

However, Yadav had learned about this development before the announcement of the candidate’s name and soon announced withdrawing his candidature for the bypoll, which the party eventually lost. As of now, the ice is yet to break between the party leadership and Yadav who for years been an OBC poster boy for the grand old party.

Meanwhile, for Ajay Singh, the former Leader of Opposition and son of late Congress veteran Arjun Singh, things are also not the same as before. He is in political oblivion ever since he lost the assembly poll in the year 2018 to BJP’s first-timer Shardendu Tiwari on his home turf Churhat.

Following this, Nath and Singh had exchanged words as the former had blamed the Vindhya region for the thin majority gained by Congress in the 2018 assembly polls. It is important to mention here that Singh is a regional satrap who has been controlling the region for years.

Now, Singh is trying to gain his lost political ground. Last year, he met BJP leaders but after the news came out in public, he vowed that he will remain with the Congress party forever.

Moreover, senior leader Dr Govind Singh, who had been Leader of Opposition in MP assembly in the past, too has been craving for the post and has made his wish public on occasions. As his wish wasn’t fulfilled, Dr Singh too hasn’t been too active in party affairs, of late. After the departure of Jyotiraditya Scindia, Dr Singh is among some known faces who are left with the Congress camp in the Gwalior-Chambal region. However, Dr Singh was seen by the side when the MPCC chief visited Bhind for a Jan Akrosh rally on Wednesday.

Another prominent face, Kantilal Bhuria, too has confined himself to his home constituency Jhabua after he lost the Lok Sabha poll and won as an MLA in a bypoll. To add, Bhuria has been the party’s tribal face in the state for years. He also has some reason to be upset as his son and Youth Congress president Dr Vikrant wasn’t fielded in the Jobat bypoll last year which the party had lost.

The party’s ‘gen-next’ leader and once among the close aides of ex-Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Jitu Patwari, also has been subdued in and outside the assembly for a while. Though he remains active in party engagements, it is not the same for Patwari, who has been in limelight for cornering the BJP government with his fiery speeches and protests.

The party’s position in disarray is visible as Kamal Nath launched the ‘Ghar Ghar Chalo’ campaign recently to boost ground connect. However, most of the party seniors skipped participating in the campaign over one reason or the other.

MP Mahila Congress state executive dissolved

Organisational disorder came to the fore yet again as the high command announced to dissolve MP Women Congress state executive on Wednesday, just weeks after appointments were made when Archana Srivastava was appointed Mahila Congress head. Factionalism seemed present here as well as four senior vice-presidents were spared from action and will hold their designations. After the formation of the state executive, several senior party office-bearers had resigned following a dispute on organisational appointments.

Analysis from political pundits

A senior political journalist wishing anonymity questioned Kamal Nath’s attitude and efficacy as state head chief. “Factionalism is inherent in the Congress in MP as workers repose faith in their leader and not the party. It’s same presently as they have no new leadership, and the one who can lead (read Scindia) has left,” said the journalist, adding that the party is pitted against an organisation (BJP) which despite internal differences put the party above all and also keeps discord under wraps.

“The party (BJP) workers keep a strong ground connect unlike Congress party where workers and leaders remain aloof to the ground realities,” claimed the political commentator.

Taking a subdued stand on things under Kamal Nath, another senior political analyst from MP said Nath presently is the best bet as he has the required financial resources for running the party and seems a better choice than erratic Digvijaya Singh and far better than second-rung leaders. “A rejig is only possible if Congress performs brightly in five state elections and Rahul Gandhi gains a better say in party affairs against the old guard.”

Nath’s action of snatching powers from party seniors seems a response to the 2018 debacle and he has seemingly decided to call the shots in a centralised manner which is visible with his party meetings and state tours, he added.

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