New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday night named veteran leader Kamal Nath as Madhya Pradesh’s next chief minister after hours of discussions held by party chief Rahul Gandhi with senior party leaders in the national capital, amid a debate on the old versus the new guard.
Flanked by Jyotiraditya Scindia, the other senior leader from the state who was in contention for the top post, Nath said that as the new chief minister he would ensure all promises made by the Congress party are fulfilled and that Madhya Pradesh’s future was secure.
Asserting that the state unit of the party was united and there were no “camps”, Nath thanked Scindia and said he has no problems with him. He also recalled his long association with the Gandhi family, starting with the late Indira Gandhi.
Nath, 72, is meeting Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel at 10:30 am Friday to take forward the government formation and discuss the details of swearing-in ceremony.
Asked about the Congress’s manifesto promise of farm loan waiver, he said, “It is a challenging time and we will all together fulfil the promises made in our ‘Vachan Patra’.”
Soon after the veteran leader reached Bhopal to a rousing welcome by his supporters chanting ‘Jai Jai Kamal Nath’, the party’s central observer for Madhya Pradesh A.K. Antony told the newly-elected MLAs that Nath’s name has been decided for the chief minister post.
Subsequently, Scindia proposed Nath’s name as the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader and it was approved “unanimously” by the MLAs, leaders said.
While Scindia left for home soon after the meeting, Nath was surrounded by his supporters who had gathered in large numbers there to congratulate him to become the state’s chief minister for the first time.
Nath was picked as the chosen one after marathon meetings at Rahul Gandhi’s residence in the national capital, attended by various senior leaders including Sonia Gandhi. Rahul’s sister Priyanka Gandhi had also reached the Tughlaq Lane house when the deliberations were on, but it could not be confirmed whether she was also a participant.
From the archives: Kamal Nath’s Appointment Fiasco: The Season of Self-Goals in Punjab
Soon after arriving in Bhopal, Nath and Scindia reached Indira Bhawan, the Congress state headquarters, and held a meeting of party’s newly elected MLAs and conveyed the party high command’s decision.
Nath, who was appointed as president of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee on April 26, is credited with having steered the party to a win in the just-concluded assembly polls, in which the party bagged 114 seats.
The Congress has secured support of a total of 121 MLAs, including SP (1) and BSP (2) legislators as also of four independents, to cross the majority mark of 116 seats in the 230-member assembly.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which ruled the state for 15 years, got 109 seats in the elections. The saffron party’s Shivraj Singh Chouhan was the state’s longest serving chief minister since taking charge in 2005.
Nath said he was “hungry” for the Congress’s return to power in the state and asserted that the party has got “unconditional” support from the SP and the BSP.
Nath has been accused of playing a role in the 1984 killings of Sikhs in Delhi. He was then the minister of road transport and highways, and has been questioned by the Nanavati Commission about his role. Nath is said to have been present for at least two hours during the five-hour violence against Sikhs at the Rakab Ganj Gurudwara, in which two Sikh men were burnt alive. His presence has been confirmed by multiple sources, as Manoj Mitta and H.S. Phoolka have written in their book.
After the Congress announced its decision, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the party was rewarding Nath for his role in the riots. “Whenever the Gandhi family comes to power, it protects the perpetrators of the 1984 riots,” Sirsa said. “Now, Rahul Gandhi and the Gandhi family are rewarding Kamal Nath as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. Rahul Gandhi wants to give a message that those involved in the killings of Sikhs in 1984 now need not worry… that they are behind them and will reward them instead.”
Even before his appointment was announced, Sikh leaders had said they would protest if Nath was given the top post in Madhya Pradesh.
In 2016, Kamal Nath was appointed the Congress’s state chief in Punjab but had to be removed within a few days after widespread protests.
(With PTI inputs)