The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
In father’s shadow, Nakul Nath tries to cover lost ground
THE VILLAGERS of Bhalpani in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district look to the sky for signs of their MP Nakul Nath, son of Congress veteran and ex-chief Minister Kamal Nath. The whirring of the helicopter announces his arrival as Nakul lands in the sleepy hamlet.
Dressed casually in a white shirt and jeans, Nakul, 49, maintains a stoic demeanour as he approaches the podium. He nods silently as the Congress workers whisper updates, betraying some tension before waving organisers to hasten the proceeding.
Nakul seems to be in a hurry. He has much ground to cover.
This is going to be Nakul’s toughestelection,astherulingbjp has put its full might to wrest Kamal Nath’s stronghold, weaning away a legion of the Congress leaders and Nath loyalists.
Chhindwara has remained firmly with Kamal Nath, a ninetimempfromtheseat.in2019,the BJP bagged 28 of the state’s 29 seats, but missed out on Chhindwara,wherenakulwonto emerge as the lone Congress MP in the state. This time, the BJP has pitted against Nakul its district president Vivek Bunty Sahu, who claims to be “Chhindwara’s real son” and paints Nakul asan“outsider dynast”.
The BJP has claimed to have inducted over 2,000 Congress leaders and workers in the seat, including Amarwara’s tribal MLA Kamlesh Pratap Shah and mayor Vikram Ahake.
On his campaign trail, when asked if he was nervous over the exodusofleaders,nakulsaid,“the people are still with us. There will be no damage because of this.”
Nakul had begun his campaign in February as he went aroundthedistrictonan“aabhaar yatra”, meeting booth-level party workers,whenthefather-sonduo planned their poll roadmap.
The richest candidate in MP with assets of about Rs 697 crore, Nakul uses a helicopter for campaigning, attending 5-6 rallies daily before retiring to his sprawling bungalow in Shikarpur.
At his rallies, his father’s presenceisfelt.fromlocaltribalsongs about Kamal Nath “vanquishing the BJP” and ushering in development to Chhindwara, to the district Congress leaders’ speeches, his campaign is centred around his father’s legacy. Kamal Nath’s voice is heard from loudspeakers, saying, “I have pressed ahead in my journey to serve you regardless of day or night, sun or shade. Today, I am happy Nakul is serving you with the same energy.”
A Congress worker says, “Nakul still has a long way to go to get such songs sung for him.”
Nakul, though, says he has steppedoutofhisfather’sshadow. “I have my own connect with the people. My father has a relationship with the people. But I have beenactiveforseveralyearsnow.”
It’s not just his father, even his wife Priya Nath has his back. She hasbeenseeninteractingwiththe localsbutitwasheremotionalappeal following the crossover of Congress leaders that created ripples.“whereverigo,mysisterstell me,neverbenervous,wearewith you... I am not nervous but I feel sadforpapa(kamalnath),whom they (turncoats) betrayed when the time came for his agni pareeksha...we feel sad because we accepted them as family.”
As Nakul takes the stage at Bhalpani, a local leader announces that this marks Nakul’s first visit to the village. Nakul rebuts him, saying it was his second visit. The leader stuck to his claim and went on to recount Kamal Nath’s multiple visits. When Nakul starts speaking,theleaderinterruptshim,asking him to agree to a set of local demands. Ex-minister Bala Bachan comes to his rescue, gently advising the leader to wait for Nakul to finish his speech.
“Asfarasiknow,thisismysecond visit, but if I am coming here forthefirsttime,iamveryhappy,” Nakul tells the gathering. He says the Congress brought quota for tribals. “Today, the BJP wants to takeawaythisrightfromourtribal community, but I want to assure all of you that as long as the Congressisthere,koimaikalal(no one) will be able to snatch away your reservation. Watch on your TV how BJP workers and leaders, frommanipurtosidhi(inmp),humiliate and oppress the tribals... On polling day on 19 April, you have to take revenge for this humiliation,”hesays.tribalsaccount for 36% of the seat’s population.
Nakulalsoattacksthebjpover its Assembly poll promises. “On the Ladli Behna Yojana, what did they say? They would start with Rs 1,000 per month and take it to Rs3,000.believeme,afterthelok Sabha elections, BJP will forget it forever. This, I say, is the last amount, so keep it safe,” he says.