The aged-old Congress party tends to silence those who dare to go against their decision or are politically ambitious. Everyone remembers how Punjab’s ex-CM Amarinder Singh was ousted from the party only to retain a non-performing asset like Navjot Singh Sidhu. The reason is quite obvious as Amarinder was not a yes-man while Sidhu acted exactly like a puppet of the Gandhi clan. Likewise, Madhya Pradesh’s leader of opposition Kamal Nath has resigned from the post. Wait, what? He has not resigned because he wanted to but what transpired in the last few days led him to resign. Let me explain what actually happened.
Kamal Nath announced as the CM face
What transpired on the 4th of April angered the high command. A few senior Madhya Pradesh leaders from different factions in the state unit came together to announce former CM Kamal Nath as the CM face for the next assembly elections. They declared without consulting with the brass that the party would contest the next assembly election under the leadership of Kamal Nath.
Notably, the development came during a coordination meeting of the state unit at Nath’s residence. The attendees of 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 Kawre.
It was only a few hours later that Arun Yadav took to Twitter and declare 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.
Madhya Pradesh Congress general secretary K.K. Mishra, while interacting with the media, reported that Kamal Nath was a unanimous choice as the people of MP look up to him as a “visionary” leader.
He further noted that “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.”
Meanwhile, when asked whether the high command has approved the decision, Arun Yadav stated that 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.
Congress’s silence over the decision
Soon after Kamal Nath was declared as the chief ministerial candidate for the 2023 MP assembly elections last week, the party’s high command kept fingers on its lips. The leadership was silent as it did not share a good bond with Kamal Nath. Moreover, the decision was taken without their suggestion and approval which angered the party’s high brass. With such an announcement, Congress leaders seemingly have undermined their authority.
It is pertinent to note that Kamal Nath served as the CM of MP until March 2020. Afterwards, the party lost the majority. There is a reason why Gandhis do not really like Kamal Nath and that is because he has been acting as an intermediate between the Gandhi clan and the so-called G-21 (originally G-23). G-21 is a group of senior leaders who have been asking for drastic organisational reforms in the party. These leaders keep demanding to make the decision-making process more democratic.
Then comes the resignation of Kamal Nath
Amidst all the chaos comes the resignation of Kamal Nath. The senior Congress leader resigned as the Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly. Interestingly, Congress president Sonia Gandhi too accepted Nath’s resignation.
Dr Govind Singh, a senior Congress leader and MLA from Lahar constituency in Madhya Pradesh, has replaced Nath as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party, and therefore the Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal wrote to Nath informing him that high brass has accepted his resignation. The letter can be read as, “This is to inform you that Hon’ble Congress President has accepted your resignation from the post of Leader, Congress Legislature Party, Madhya Pradesh with immediate effect. The party wholeheartedly appreciates your contribution as the CLP Leader, Madhya Pradesh.”
“Hon’ble Congress President has also approved the proposal to appoint Dr Govind Singh as the Leader of Congress Legislature Party, Madhya Pradesh,” Venugopal said.
You see, he who dares to have an opinion or mess with Gandhis ends up resigning from the party or the post. This is not a coincidence as the party tends to oust anyone who is not a yes-man for the high command.