The second list of Congress candidates for Lok Sabha elections makes it clear that the relationship between Kamal Nath and the party continues to remain frosty. Except for his son Nakul Nath, no other leader close to the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister featured in the party's second list of 43 candidates.
“It is too early to predict Kamal Nath’s political future in the Congress but it is clear that Rahul Gandhi is in no mood to keep him in good humour,” a Congress leader told THE WEEK.
While both Nath and his son Nakul—the sitting MP from Chhindwara—had laid claim to the seat, the Congress list has given the constituency to the younger Nath.
A few weeks ago, there was a swirl of rumours about Nath and his son joining the BJP. Gautam Adani and Praful Patel were the chief negotiators and the switch-over would have materialised if Nath could bring in 23 MLAs with him. While that did not work out, the Congress also did not go out of its way to stop the veteran leader from leaving the fold.
In fact, when Abhishek Manu Singhvi was asked about leaders leaving the Congress, he had said that the party was worker-centric and would only stop workers from leaving. And despite Kamal Nath staying in the party, there has been a spate of defections to the BJP.
After the Congress defeat in the MP Vidhan Sabha polls of 2023, Nath had gone to Delhi to meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and had been entertained despite the more pressing issues unfolding with the Telangana chief ministership.
However, none of this stemmed Nath’s growing disenchantment with the party as he was sidelined in meetings and given no responsibilities for the Lok Sabha polls. Rumours also have it that the man who once bankrolled his party's election campaigns had presented a huge bill of election expenses in a first.
Congress watchers in MP said there are few leaders of Nath’s stature who can talk to him. With his personal equation with Rahul Gandhi off at the moment, the only person who can intercede— Sonia Gandhi—is unlikely to do so.
It has also been indicated to the state’s Congress leadership in general that it should focus on the state and not look at bearing responsibilities elsewhere for the Lok Sabha elections.
Kamal Nath for now remains in a grey zone. The ticket for his son is a saving grace but there is hardly any indication on where his political career is headed.
