JYOTIRADITYA WILL BE CONGRESS’ FACE IN MADHYA PRADESH

to project him as the CM face,” a reliable source close to Rahul Gandhi told this newspaper. The source emphasised that Digvijaya Singh’s yatra is not a Congress brainchild, but the veteran’s way of showing displeasure with the high command. Singh was earlier dropped as the in-charge of Goa and poll bound Karnataka. “The leadership issue in the state (Madhya Pradesh) is resolved. Kamal Nath has agreed to stand by Rahul’s decision. Singh is very annoyed with the high command, but Rahul has made up his mind. Singh’s yatra is his individual effort and is not supported or endorsed by the Congress party,” the source quoted explained.

The source said that Scindia could be made the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee chief after Rahul Gandhi is formally anointed as party president, expected any day before 14 and 19 November, the birth anniversaries of his great-grand father Jawaharlal Nehru and his grandmother Indira Gandhi, respectively. Gradually, Scindia would also be declared as the party’s chief ministerial candidate, the source added. Kamal Nath, nine-time MP from Chhindwara and Congress’ general secretary, was considered one of the front-runners for the post of CM candidate of the Congress, but Rahul decided to opt for a “younger and energetic” Scindia, who is closer to him, over the 70-year-old veteran. Arun Yadav, the incumbent PCC chief in Madhya Pradesh, is expected to be relieved from his post to make way for Scindia. Until some time ago, Kamal Nath was himself eyeing the position, but after it became apparent that Rahul Gandhi’s elevation as Congress president was imminent, the older leader, sources said, opted to play safe and not run out of favour with Rahul.