KAMAL NATH HAD RAHUL’S PRIOR ASSURANCE ON CM POST

Supporters of Kamal Nath had told him that he should take up the charge of Madhya Pradesh Congress only if he got an assurance from the party high command that he would be made Chief Minister if they won the state. It was only after getting this assurance from party president Rahul Gandhi that Kamal Nath took over as Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president of MP on 26 April 2018, just seven months before the Assembly elections held on 28 November. He has now been made Chief Minister of the state.

Congress party sources said that the other claimant to the CM’s chair, Jyotiraditya Scindia, the MP from Guna, had the support of more than 50 of the 114 newly elected MLAs. But Scindia lost the race since an assurance had already been given to Kamal Nath and also because former CM Digvijaya Singh was supporting Nath.

“We all were aware that Kamal Nath’s supporters were projecting him as the CM during the run-up to the elections, but when the results came, the MLAs supporting Scindia started the clamour that Scindia should be made CM. It was a natural development and not a planned one”, said a party source, who has been present in the Congress office in Bhopal since result day.

In the run-up to the elections, the supporters of Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh got the maximum number of tickets. However, the Congress won on 26 seats just from Scindia’s stronghold, the Gwalior-Chambal region, which sends 34