It’s Kamal Nath vs Scindia in MP

The delay in appointing a new president for the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has aggravated the Kamal Nath vs Jyotiraditya Scindia “battle” in the state, with supporters loyal to each faction openly calling for the appointment of their respective leaders as the next chief.

The incumbent Arun Yadav— a former Lok Sabha member, who also served as Union minister in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet—was appointed the MPCC chief in January 2014. He completed his three-year fixed tenure long ago. During his tenure, he tried his best, but was unable to revive the Congress in the state. “Congress has too many influential leaders in the state. Arun Yadav was seen as a neutral person, who had good ties with all the stalwarts, but despite his best efforts, he could not do much for the party as infighting and clashes of interests among party leaders hurt his work. Now we need someone who is ‘strong’ and both Kamal Nath and Scindia are influential in that sense,” a party spokesperson said.

Supporters of the two warring factions have created multiple Facebook pages that call for making their respective leaders the president of MPCC. Kamal Nath, according to his supporters, has been in virtually every political post except that of state Chief Minister and feels that the 2018 Assembly elections are his last chance to try for the post, as he will be 76 when Assembly elections