Kamal blooms as Kamal Nath withers in Madhya Pradesh: Curtains down for Congress veteran?
Kamal Nath had lost his chief minister's seat in 15 months after coming to power in Madhya Pradesh state in 2018. The Congress had won the 2018 assembly election by a wafer-thin margin.
However, 22 Congress MLAs and prominent leader Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned and Kamal Nath had to quit CM's office.
Three years since that incident, Kamal Nath, who boasts a track record of becoming Lok Sabha member for nine times, has probably not done enough to resurrect the Congress party of which he is the state president. Kamal Nath is leading in his Chhindwara constituency at a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party is set to sweep the state governance, in clear show of Congress or Kamal Nath & Co.'s failure to cash in on any anti-incumbency factor or charges of corruption against Shivraj Singh Chouhan's BJP government in the state.
The magnitude of Congress' loss in Madhya Pradesh has made some exclaim it to be 'shocking'.
Kamal Nath's potential failure is further magnified when put in contrast to how BJP leadership in MP or even in national politics over the recent decade has turned the narrative to pro-incumbency. While the anti-incumbency is a failed theme in Madhya Pradesh, BJP has used it well in Rajasthan to likely show Ashok Gehlot the exit door.
BJP also delivered a surprise in Chhattisgarh and is comfortably above the majority mark while the votes are still being counted.
Kamal Nath's near 22,000 lead can also be juxtaposed to Chouhan's more than 80,000 lead in his Budhni constituency, reflecting the meek performance of Kamal Nath who launched scathing attacks on BJP via his words on corruption.
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