'We are not playing any hindutva card': Kamal Nath

KAMAL NATH’S HOME office in Bhopal’s Shymala Hills is abuzz with a steady stream of visitors. The bell inside rings constantly, informing his office staff he is ready to meet the next batch of people. The former chief minister is meeting everybody, from constituents to youth-wing members to ticket seekers to party functionaries and also supporters of disappointed ticket aspirants. What is drawing people to this posh enclave is the whiff of a possible victory and the fact that he is the Congress’s undisputed chief ministerial face in the assembly elections. Visitors have to leave their phones in a tray in the waiting area. He clearly feels he can do without unnecessary controversies in the crucial election.

At 76, he is leading his party’s campaign from the front. Time is of the essence for Kamal Nath, who will soon be travelling out of Bhopal. In the midst of a hectic schedule, the state Congress president talks exclusively to THE WEEK, exuding confidence that the people of Madhya Pradesh will avenge the toppling of his government in 2020.

Kamal Nath says the people are fed up with the 18-year-old rule of the BJP and realise that this election is about the future of Madhya Pradesh. He rejects the idea that he has played the hindutva card in this election, saying religion has no place in politics. He also seeks to downplay the visit of controversial religious leader Baba Bageshwar to Chhindwara district, his stronghold, insisting he was just being a good host.

Amid the buzz about tensions between him and party veteran Digvijaya Singh, he insists they are old friends and the remark about tearing of clothes was made in jest. Edited excerpts:

Q/ At the outset, I want to ask you whether I am talking to the next chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.

A/ You should ask the people of Madhya Pradesh, not me. The people of Madhya Pradesh will decide the chief minister. And I have full confidence and faith in the people because this is not an election of merely a candidate or merely a party. This election, which the people are realising, is about the future of Madhya Pradesh.

Q/ Is this election also about avenging what happened in 2020? Your government was toppled. It must also be a personal battle for you.

A/ The people will avenge it. They know what kind of deals were made when the government was toppled. And the people understand the politics behind this. So [they will] avenge this and what has happened [over the years]―how there has been a complete misrule over the last 18 years.

Q/ Where does Jyotiraditya Scindia stand in the scheme of things in Madhya Pradesh politics at the moment?

A/ That is for the BJP to decide where he stands. How am I to decide where he stands? The BJP has to decide where he stands and where he does not stand. What do I have to do with that?

Q/ How challenging was it for you to pick up the pieces after the setback in 2020 and prepare the party for this big fight?

A/ You must remember that we won the mayoral elections after 35 years; [that was] about 15 months ago. We won the mayoral elections in Morena, which is almost a suburb of Gwalior.

Q/ So that was when things started turning around for you?

A/ Well, it started 15 months ago.

Q/ In the previous election, there was a very narrow gap between the Congress and the BJP. So is there any safe number that you are setting as a target?

A/ I am not setting any targets. That is not my way of doing things. My numbers are set by the people of Madhya Pradesh. And they will decide whom they want. And I have confidence in the voters of Madhya Pradesh that they will secure their future.

Q/ What is the significance of this election for the Congress, not just in terms of winning Madhya Pradesh, but also national politics?

A/ Madhya Pradesh has been a bastion of the BJP and the party itself says that this is the laboratory of the RSS. So, obviously, this is a major election and will have a national significance.

Q/ What is your assessment of the BJP in this election? We have Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigning here. MPs and ministers have been fielded. It has given a national flavour to the elections.

A/ That is the BJP’s strategy. Whatever they feel, they should do. Let them do [it]. Why should I have an opinion on it?

Whoever they put up, we are going to fight.

Q/ How do you counter this strategy aimed at bringing national issues to the forefront?

A/ The people realise that this is a state election. In a state election, if the voters’ attention is diverted towards issues that are not state issues, it will be wrong for the state. The state election is on state issues. So we are confining it to that.

Q/ How do you view the fight being put up by your prime opponent―Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan?

A/ Obviously, he is going to fight. Let him fight. He has been fighting for so long. He should fight. Let us see what happens. People now understand his governance in the last 18 years. And I am sure that people will want corrective action.

Q/ The Congress had won the elections in 2018. But the results in the Lok Sabha elections were completely different.

A/ Let’s confine ourselves to the state elections. Lok Sabha elections will come after the state elections. And it depends on what happens then. I am confident that we will do well in the Lok Sabha elections, too.

Q/ The Congress has announced a number of welfare measures in the run-up to the elections. But your opponents say they are not financially viable. Where will the money come from?

A/ What all has Shivraj Singh announced in the last five months as a desperate measure? Where will the money for that come from? He has desperately announced so many things. I announce gas cylinder, he announces gas cylinder at so and so price. I announce [schemes for] women, he announces [schemes for] women. And we have done a financial calculation. We are sure that we will find the resources to meet what we have announced.

Q/ Did you consult economic experts?

A/ Of course, we consulted them. We made an estimate of what every announcement will cost. And then we took the call.

Q/ A number of MLAs were not given tickets this time. Was there a feeling of anti-incumbency against them?

A/ There were some who said they did not want to contest. A few had some legal issues. Otherwise, we have given [tickets] to all the MLAs.

Q/ There have been protests by leaders who were not given tickets.

A/ That will always happen. There are 4,000 applicants for 230 seats. So there will be a sense of disappointment. That is natural. It has happened in every election.

Q/ Any concern that it could affect the party’s prospects?

A/ In the end, it is their disappointment that is coming forth. But I am sure that they will all work for the Congress.

Q/ There is a feeling that the Congress is going really aggressive with the hindutva card in this election.

A/ Where is the hindutva card? I don’t understand this. What have we said? The party and I have both maintained that religion has no place in politics and politics has no place in religion. It is the BJP that has played this card. We are not playing any card.

Q/ But there was some unease in the party when you hosted Baba Bageshwar. There was this feeling that you were agreeing with his idea of Hindu Rashtra.

A/ He decided to come to Chhindwara. Chhindwara is my district. I cannot tell him not to come. It was his decision to come to Chhindwara. So he came. I was there for some time. What does that signify? It does not signify that I am agreeing or disagreeing with him. What he said was that I have come to the best place in the state, which is what he felt. It had nothing to do with hindutva. We used to do the Sarv Dharm Aarti (multi-faith prayer). Where is the Hindu factor in this?

Q/ Has opposition unity taken a beating in the state elections? No seat-sharing was achieved.

A/ I don’t think so. We tried to do it with the Samajwadi Party. It was not a question of number of seats, but it was a question of which seats. I have to convince our people, too. The seats where our people said we were winning, we gave them to the Samajwadi Party. But the Samajwadi candidates were not that effective.

Q/ How do you view the role of veteran leader Digvijaya Singh in this election?

A/ Digvijaya Singh is a very senior Congress leader. He was chief minister [of Madhya Pradesh] for 10 years. He was president of the (state) Congress for 10 years. So obviously he has got a very big stature.

Q/ How would you describe your association with him? Friendship? Partnership? Or, rivalry, like your opponents say?

A/ We have a very old friendship and we continue to be friends.

Q/ But the banter between you two about tearing clothes was picked up by your opponents to suggest rivalry.

A/ What did I say? When people come to me from his area, they say, “Ye nahi ho raha, aisa karna hai (this is not happening, and this should be done).” Because they come from his area I said, “Digvijaya ke kapde phado, mujhe kyun keh rahe ho (Go, tear Digvijaya’s clothes, why are you telling me)?” What I said in jest was picked up as if there was a big fight between Digvijaya Singh and me. I said publicly that day in a very big meeting, with Digvijaya was sitting there, that I have given him my power of attorney to take all the abuses for me. Everybody laughed, and he said, ‘yes’. So what is there in that?

Q/ What will be the first decision your government will take if the Congress were to come to power?

A/ It will be in the agricultural sector, for the farmers, and for the youth. These are the two biggest challenges in the state.