BHOPAL: Three days after a dinner meeting of senior leaders and ex-ministers decided that ex-CM and present state party chief Kamal Nath will continue to be Congress's CM face for the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls scheduled for late 2023, the grand old party's state unit has now constituted a committee of senior leaders which would meet every fortnight to chalk out the future course of action, both in the short run and the long run.
The panel which is largely a political affairs committee is chaired by the state party chief Kamal Nath and has on board other senior party leaders and ex-minister of Kamal Nath's 15 months old erstwhile government in MP.
Formed on the directions of the central party leadership, the committee has among others, ex-CM Digvijaya Singh, ex-state party chiefs Kantilal Bhuria, Suresh Pachauri, Arun Yadav, and former Leader of Opposition Ajay Singh Rahul, besides veteran Muslim MLA and ex-minister Arif Aqeel, ex-ministers Jeetu Patwari and Nath-loyalists ex-ministers, Sajjan Verma, Vijaylaxmi Sadho, Lakhan Ghanghoriya and former Vidhan Sabha Speaker NP Prajapati. It also has two invited members, Rajya Sabha members Rajmani Patel and Vivek Tankha.
According to senior party leader and state general secretary-media KK Mishra, the committee will meet at least fortnightly and take all political decisions for the short run as well as the long run with an eye on returning to power in the next year's end assembly polls.
"This is yet another development which will prove our opponents wrong that decisions are taken in MP Congress by any one leader, but all major decisions are arrived at with consensus of all senior leaders," Mishra said.
On Monday, at a meeting of senior leaders of the party in Bhopal, ex-CM Digvijaya Singh had proposed state party chief Kamal Nath's name as the party's unanimous face and choice for CM in the next year's polls. It's, however, still not clear whether Nath will keep with him both plum posts, the state party chief and Leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha posts, or quit one of those posts, in most likelihood the opposition leader's post.