Kamal Nath is Congress's lone ranger in MP bypolls

NEW DELHI/BHOPAL: Ahead of the MP (Madhya Pradesh) bypolls Kamal Nath is fighting a lonely battle as the focus of the Congress has shifted to Bihar where the party hopes to defeat the BJP-JD(U) combine but in Bhopal it's the former CM who is taking the fight to the BJP. The Congress leader is in a do-or-die situation to make a comeback as Chief Minister after the Congress government fell due to the revolt of JyotiradityaScindia.

Whether it is meeting people for campaigning or pacifying dissenters, or even asking people to get trained about electronic voting machines, sources close to Kamal Nath say he is working tirelessly to win the elections.

While the BJP has released names of star campaigners in the state in which both national and state leaders have found place, Congress leaders say that in bypolls national leaders do not campaign and the party is serious about Madhya Pradesh and leaders like Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh are capable of cornering and exposing the BJP.

But former two-time Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh has kept away from the campaign so far. Sources say this is a strategy so that the focus stays on the loan waiver and welfare work done by Kamal Nath and preventing the focus from shifting to individuals which may prove counterproductive.

In his speeches, Kamal Nath is saying the public knows why the election is happening and has been highlighting the work he has done during his tenure as Chief Minister.

From Ujjain to Chambal, it is Kamal Nath who has hit the campaign trail accompanied by former leader of opposition Ajay Singh Rahul, former state president ArunYadav and former minister JituPatwari.

All the 28 seats on which bypolls are being held were in the Congress' kitty after the Assembly elections, but slipped out of its hands after the party MLAs resigned to support JyotiradityaScindia in March 2020 and walked into the BJP camp to ensure the fall of the then government led by Kamal Nath.

The Congress will need to bag all the 28 seats in Madhya Pradesh to again get a majority in the Assembly, which is a tough task. On the other hand, the ruling BJP needs only nine seats to reach the magic figure of 116. (IANS)

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