Kamal Nath and his Kanpur connection
KANPUR/SAHARANPUR: Madhya Pradesh chief minister-elect Kamal Nath, who helped his party break the 15-year reign of the BJP, was born and raised in Kanpur.
The city was instrumental in shaping him as a politician, before his family migrated to Kolkata and then Madhya Pradesh.
“It is a matter of great pride for all of us that someone born in the lanes of Khalasi Lines is being thought of leading one of the biggest states,” said RK Awasthi, Nath’s college mate. Nath was born in 1946 to Mahendra Nath, a business- man, who wanted his son to be a lawyer, said Awasthi.
Nath studied in DAV College and then joined DC College of Law in Civil Lines. At this time, Nath also joined the Youth Congress and he was seen as an active leader in the Tilak Hall circle, said Har Prakash Agnihotri, City Congress president. Tilak Hall, named after Bal Gangadhar Tilak, is Congress’s local headquarters since the days of the independence struggle.
“He was quite active in student politics of Kanpur; the party high command has to take the call on who will become the CM but making him the CM will help the party immensely in consolidating its base in Madhya Pradesh,” Agnihotri said.
Kamal Nath also have links with Saharanpur in western UP. Kamal Nath got married in Saharanpur into a family of politicians to Alka, sister of late Nirbhay Pal Sharma. Alka’s nephew and Nirbhay’s son, Raghav Lakhan Pal, is currently the BJP MP from Saharanpur.