According to the media reports, the newly formed Congress government of Madhya Pradesh is going to collapse soon. Congress party was somehow able to gain the majority in the state after 15 long years. It seems that former CM, Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s prophecy, will soon be a ground reality in the near future. Political pundits are speculating that the Groupism inside the Congress party will lead to political instability in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
Such speculations were reinforced, when independent candidates and small parties (supporting the Congress) called a meeting just after the cabinet formation in the state. According to the media reports, the meeting that lasted about an hour includes 3 independent MLAs; two MLAs of BSP, one from SP and it was headed by Dr. Hiralal Alawa. It is said that Kamal Nath’s government in Madhya Pradesh was not aware of this meeting and again the rumors were strong that the government would not able to sustain much. These MLAs are annoyed as they were promised berths in the state cabinet, but the promises were not kept. They felt that they are deceived. Some people are associating this meeting with the statement of former CM Shivraj Chouhan in which he mentioned that the Congress government (Under CM Kamal Nath) won’t complete its tenure of 5 years.
Not to forget the fact that there are a total of 230 assembly seats in the state. Earlier, after the elections, Congress won 114 seats, BJP got 109, 2 went in favour of BSP, 1 for SP and 4 seats for independent candidates. Since no single party could touch the magical figure of 116, so independent candidates have an important role to play in the government formation.
According to a news report by Naidunia, many Congress MLAs including Bisahulal Singh, Hardeep Dung, Jhuma Solanki, and Hina Kanwar did not attend the swearing-in ceremony because they were not offered any ministerial post in the state cabinet. An Independent MLA Surendra Singh alias Shera Bhaiya (Dissatisfied with the Congress party) said, “Main to jungle mein hoon, jo karna hai, unhe karna hai. Wada kiya tha, use tod diya gaya. (I am in the forest called politics, whatever is to be done, they have to do it. It was promised, it has been broken)”. Another independent MLA Sanjeev Singh when asked if he was in touch with the BJP, he said that “Rajneeti kar rahe hain, to sabse baatcheet karni padti hai. (I am in politics and I have to talk with everyone”.
Prior to this, a tweet from JAYAS Chief and the MLA of Congress from Manawar, Hiralal Alawa created a political ruckus. Hiralal Alawa tweeted that JAYAS played an important role in the formation of Congress government in Madhya Pradesh. According to the promises made, JAYAS should have its participation in the government, he said. He further added that it would be a big mistake of the Congress if it ignores JAYAS.
In another instance, the supporters of Aidal Singh Kansana, an MLA from Sumavali, blocked the highway near the Deori Baba temple of Saraychola police station as the MLA was not included in the state Cabinet. The supporters also burnt tires on the highway. The jam remained for about two and a half hours. When Advocate Rajwardhana Singh, MLA from Badaneon did not get a ministerial post, his supporters also rushed to the office of Madhya Pradesh Congress and protested against the Kamal Nath’s government. Meanwhile, supporters of Piyora MLA KP Singh gathered at his residence in Bhopal and protested against the Congress party. MLA KP Singh was also shocked to be kept out of the cabinet and went in exile afterward. He did not even appear in swearing-in ceremony and was not picking up his calls either.
It seems that the road to State Assembly for the Congress party is yet not that easy in Madhya Pradesh. First of all the grand old party worked hard to convince everyone for Kamal Nath’s candidature as Chief Minister. As soon as Kamal Nath projected as CM, the Jyotiraditya Scindia faction got annoyed and reached Delhi in a show of strength. Now the agitation of the MLAs of SP and BSP for the ministerial post in the Cabinet is becoming a headache for the Congress party. There is a high probability that the prophecy of BJP and Shivraj Singh may come true and it will prove a nightmare for Congress.