NEW DELHI – Amid speculation that he may switch to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Kamal Nath on Saturday told the media that if he were to take a decision in this regard, he will inform the media first.
Rumours have have been doing the rounds that Kamal Nath and his son, Nakul Nath, may soon join BJP.
“Why are you all getting excited? It is not about denying. I will inform you all if there is something like that,” Kamal Nath said.
Ealier in the day, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh reacted to sepculations over Kamal Nath joining the BJP.
“I spoke to Kamal Nath on Friday, he was in Chhindwara. A person who started his political journey and stood with the Nehru-Gandhi family when Indira Gandhi was sent to jail, do you think he will ever leave Congress and the Gandhi family?”
Congres MP Nakul Nath removed ‘INC’ from his social media bio, giving further momentum to the rumours that he is going to join the BJP.
Furthermore, Nakul Nath, the lone Congress MP from Madhya Pradesh, who was supposed to continue his meeting with party workers in his family bastion Chhindwara from February 14 to 18, stopped the meeting and left for Delhi along with his father.
All these sequences gave rise to the speculation that Kamal Nath, considered close to the Nehru-Gandhi family, is likely to end his decades long association with the grand old party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
On February 10, IANS had reported that a rift between Kamal Nath and former AICC president Rahul Gandhi erupted following the party’s loss in the assembly election in November last year.
Sources had then also claimed that a deal between Kamal Nath and the BJP that was “derailed” due to some reasons, was “brought back” on track again with several top leaders from the BJP having supported the same.
However, seasoned politician with over 40 years of experience, Kamal Nath left the political watchers guessing.. Though all is not going well between Rahul and Kamal Nath, the latter was regularly visiting to meet Sonia Gandhi. Kamal Nath’s frequent visits to meet Sonia were also being viewed as the leader racing for the Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh.
Recently when Kamal Nath invited Congress MLAs for a dinner at his residence in Bhopal, it was seen as his power show to obtain the Rajya Sabha seat. However, two days later, the party nominated MP Congress treasurer Ashok Singh for the Upper House of the Parliament. That probably had disappointed Kamal Nath, who wants to retain his bastion Chhindwara.
Sources in the Madhya Pradesh Congress still believe that Nakul Nath may join the BJP but not Kamal Nath, citing latter’s decades long association with the Congress and his personal bonding with the Nehru-Gandhi family. -IANS