Madhya Pradesh seems to be readying for a major political upheveal, going by the recent statements coming from both the BJP and the Congress. The grand old party has claimed that the BJP is trying to topple the Kamal Nath government in the state of Madhya Pradesh, and therefore 8 of the party lawmakers were found in Gurugram on Tuesday midnight.
Senior Congress leader and Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister Tarun Bhanot has claimed that these MLAs were being held by the BJP at a Gurugram hotel. Four of the MLAs are from the Congress, two from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), one from Samajwadi Party (SP) and one independent MLA.
While the Congress claims that the BJP is trying to poach its legislators and that they were held in the hotel with the help of Haryana Police, it seems clear that the Madhya Pradesh Congress has failed to keep its house in order. Internal dissensions have caused disenchantment within the party supporters which seems to be manifesting itself in a manner that is utterly humiliating with the Congress.
This mounts tensions for the Congress in the state, where it has been already embroiled in infighting at the top level. Jyotiraditya Scindia and his faction has been involved in a bitter tussle with the old guard led by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Kamal Nath.
Recently, Jyotiraditya Scindia has stepped up the heat on Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath. Scindia had threatened to hit the streets if the Congress government in the state didn’t fulfill its promises of farm loan waiver and absorption of guest teachers in state government service. Scindia’s remarks had evoked a terse, angry reply from the Madhya Pradesh CM, Kamal Nath. He had retorted by saying, “Toh utar jayein (Let him hit the streets if he wants to).”
And suddenly the Madhya Pradesh Congress unit was washing its dirty linen in public.
#WATCH Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on being asked about Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia's statement of taking to streets over not fulfilling the state government's promise of waiving off farmers loan in the state: Toh utar jayein. pic.twitter.com/zg329BJSw0
— ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2020
What spells further trouble for the Kamal Nath government is that according to former Madhya Pradesh water resources minister and senior BJP leader Narottam Mishra, 15-20 Congress lawmakers are in touch with the BJP.
Mishra told ANI, “Around 15-20 MLAs are in our contact. MLAs do keep in touch with me. Congress MLAs are not able to get their work done, it increases their discontentment from their own government as they are answerable to the people.”
Giving further ominous signs to the Congress, he said, “This government will fall because of its burden. From MLAs to Chief Minister, everyone is involved in corruption. Their own MLAs are fed up with the Kamal Nath government. They are accusing us to get away with the discontent of their own MLAs.”
The Congress also seems to have realised the sudden political developments in the state, which is why it has also started making baseless allegations of poaching against the BJP. On Monday, for instance, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Digvijaya Singh had alleged Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Narottam Mishra of offering bribes to the tune of Rs 25-35 crores in order to topple the Kamal Nath government.
Why should the Congress make such allegations all of a sudden, except for the reason that the grand old party also feels that it is falling apart in Madhya Pradesh due to the lackluster performance of the Kamal Nath government and infighting within the state unit.
The Congress would have also understood that things can change very quickly from here. In 2018, none of the parties had secured a clear majority on its own. The BJP had 109 seats in the 230 member Assembly, while the Congress had won 114 seats. Two BSP MLAs, one SP MLAs and four independent MLAs had extended supported to the Congress bringing it to power.
Thus, even with 15-20 MLAs here and there, we would be starting into a major political upheaval in Madhya Pradesh.
It is clear that something big is brewing as far as the state of Madhya Pradesh is concerned. Kamal Nath government has already become quite unpopular due to its dismal performance track record. Moreover, it is fighting disenchantment within Jyotiraditya’s faction.
The people of Madhya Pradesh have not yet forgotten the impressive governance record of the former Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan under whom the state progressed significantly. This seems to be further triggering the anguish against Kamal Nath government and might be a contributing factor to the likely crisis knocking at its doorstep.
In such circumstances, it is very much possible that some Congress MLAs might be eager to desert the grand old party and join the BJP instead. A coup therefore seems to be going live in Madhya Pradesh and the impressive track record of former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan while in power seems to be at the centre of this significant political development in the state.