The Congress strategy for Madhya Pradesh is in a sharp contrast with the ruling BJP. The BJP is running a high voltage blitz focussing around prime minister Narendra Modi with a slogan, “MP ke dil mein Modi Modi; Modi ke dil mein MP MP (Modi is in MP’s heart; MP is in Modi’s heart).” Union home minister Amit shah, who is micro managing Madhya Pradesh polls, is working on a centralised strategy that has virtually reduced the incumbent chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to a bystander.
In comparison, the Congress has a local approach with veteran warhorse Kamal Nath as a central piece. From the candidates short-listing to the key planks including a thrust on religious outreach programme [ flaunting proximity to Hinduism] Kamal Nath signature is there all over.
Nath has been a bold and declared Hanuman bhakt. He had played an active role to get a 101 feet long statue of Hanuman in his Chhindwara constituency that has elected him eleven times as member of parliament and assembly. “It is the tallest Hanuman statue in the country,” Nath had told this correspondent adding, “Chhindwara Hanuman statue is taller than the one at Chattarpur in Delhi by 8 inches. I got this temple ready a few years ago out of my devotion for Lord Hanuman.”
Kamal Nath is in league of his own in the Congress. Nath has been a leader who has been part of the Congress since the Sanjay Gandhi era. A man who had contributed in the fall of Janata regime of 1979, sowing seeds of discontent between Morarji Desai, Charan Singh and making full use of maverick Raj Narain. Son of a businessman from Meerut, Nath was a contemporary of Sanjay and Rajiv Gandhi at Doon School, where he was affectionately called “Roly”. He later earned a BCom degree from St Xavier’s, Calcutta. At the height of Sanjay’s clout during 1975-76, there used to be a slogan, “Indira Gandhi ke do haath, Sanjay Gandhi aur Kamal Nath.”
Nath has maintained a track record of being a “go getter” and a “doer”. When the UPA was struggling to push through a bill on the FDI in retail, Nath performed a near miracle, bringing BSP leader Mayawati to vote for the bill in the Rajya Sabha in the latter half of 2008. Just as confident opposition leaders were retiring to bed, Nath was with Mayawati in the company of Satish Mishra promising the BSP supremo to bring in SC/ST job reservation bill in Parliament in exchange of her support to the FDI. It is interesting that in 2023 assembly polls, Mayawati, having formed an alliance with Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP), has not visited Madhya Pradesh even once. Samajwadi Party and the AIMIM leadership too have not shown any interest in Madhya Pradesh polls.
In MP Congress circle, Nath is called “Bada bhai” of Diggy Raja – a tag he earned during the ten-year of Digvijay Singh rule (1993-2003) when Nath and Digvijay had neutralised veterans like Arjun Singh, Madhavrao Scindia and Shukla brothers (all dead now). During the Digvijay rule (1993-2003), Nath’s wishes were treated as command as the chief minister Digvijaya had publicly acknowledged Nath as “Bada bhai” and the real power behind the throne.
Nath is known for his ready wit. He had narrated how travelling from Paris to Brussels by train with then European Union trade commissioner Peter Mandelson, he had explained his stand against agricultural protectionism by the developed countries. “Here are the fat cows living on subsidised food and they can’t stand on their legs. That is my story and that is my argument,” Nath who was union commerce minister then, had told Mandelson. At another occasion, he was asked what time he gets up in the morning. Nath quickly said, “first ask me what time I sleep!”
Nath has nursed his Chhindwara constituency well and visits it every month. It’s part of local lore how he once got executives from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to visit Chhindwara as his guests so he could persuade them to extend a loan for a central project that involved building a dam on the local Pench river. Similarly, in February 2007 when he was union minister for commerce, Nath had got industry chamber CII to hold a conclave in Chhindwara where two private jets carrying leading Indian industrialists had landed on the Nath family’s airstrip. One of the upshots: a spice park in the constituency.
As a campaigner, Nath is currently focussing on five guarantees, rival of old pension, caste based census, Vyapam scam, farmers unrest, caste conflicts between dalits and upper castes, crime against women, corruption in high places and disquiet in the state bureaucracy over influence of certain bureaucrats. He is confident that given 18 years of BJP rule in the state and primacy of Chouhan in state politics, prime minister Narendra Modi’s high-pitched campaign would not help the BJP much. “Assembly polls tend to be fought on local issues and on that count, Chouhan and BJP have little to showcase,” Nath recently told this correspondent.
Nath’s current residence 9, Shyamla Hills in Bhopal is less than 100 feet from 6, Shyamla Hills, official residence of chief minister Chouhan. The contest between Nath and BJP is now touted as ‘Kamal’ versus ‘kamal’ (BJP election symbol). The Raj era bungalows at posh Shyamla Hills are spread over several acres of land and have enough space to accommodate a crowd of 10,000 for public meetings etc, have a gau shala (cow shed) and a tennis court. On the flip side, these bungalows are notorious for housing snakes. Both Chouhan and Nath have seen uninvited guests at their residences. Once a giant python had beaten the security cardon at 6, Shyamla Hills. Before snake-catchers could be summoned, the monster had gobbled up a dog. On another occasion, a Ghoda Pachad snake was seen huddled in the green cover around the chief minister’s house.
While some close Chouhan associates had rationalised the presence of these unexpected guests on the elite premises, some local leaders were heard wondering if snake-catcher Salim would be able to catch “asteen ke saanp” (the treacherous, snake-like characters) in the party. When a snake was recently caught at Nath’s residence, the story of being wary of “asteen ke saanp” is being repeated in the Congress circles as Nath is perceived to be inching closer to a victory.
Rasheed Kidwai is author, journalist and a conversation curator.