Nath busy fixing MP govt crisis, misses CWC meet
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath has skipped the Congress Working Committee (CWC), held in New Delhi on Saturday, to take stock of political situation in the state in the wake of NDA’s return to power at the Centre.
Sources close to Mr Nath said, the chief minister has earlier intimated the AICC president Rahul Gandhi about his inability to make it to Saturday’s crucial CWC meeting, in view of ‘volatile’ political situation in the state.
He however strongly backed Mr Gandhi to continue in his post, saying, the party badly needed Mr Gandhi’s leadership at the crucial juncture.
Two CWC members from MP, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Arun Yadav, however attended the Saturday’s meeting of party’s highest policy making body.
Both Mr Scindia and Mr Yadav lost the recently held Lok Sabha elections from their respective constituencies of Guna and Khandwa.
Mr Nath meanwhile has called a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting here on Sunday to review the debacle of the party in the just-concluded LS elections in the state.
He has also convened his cabinet meeting on Monday to get feedback from his ministers on the reasons for the party’s disastrous show in the LS polls.
He was scheduled to visit Delhi on Monday to submit the feedback report to the party high command, sources said.
A senior Congress leader on Saturday disclosed to this newspaper that the state leadership was devising a strategy to nip in bud any attempt by Opposition BJP to destabilize the Kamal Nath government following NDA’s return to power at the Centre.
Kamal Nath government which has a wafer thin majority in the house was getting outside support from two BSP MLAs, one SP legislator and four Independents.
BJP in Madhya Pradesh was divided over pulling down the Kamal Nath government by engineering defection in the ruling Congress.
While a section of the party led by BJP Legislature Party leader Gopal Bhargav was in favour of dislodging the state government through a trust vote in the assembly, former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was opposed to it.