BHOPAL: A Deepawali gathering organised at former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s Bhopal residence turned into a show of strength for his son and former Lok Sabha MP Nakul Nath on Saturday.
“Hamara CM kaisa ho, Nakul Bhaiya jaisa ho, bhaiya mein bhaiya Nakul Bhaiya” (Who should our Chief Minister be? Someone like Nakul Bhaiya; among all brothers, Nakul Bhaiya stands out), shouted large crowds of Congress workers who had gathered from across the state, particularly supporters of current and former MLAs from the Mahakoshal, Gwalior-Chambal and Malwa regions.
Prahlad Pawar, a 72-year-old Congress worker from the Hatod area of Indore district’s Depalpur constituency, stood firm with the Congress flag in his frail hands. “I have been working for the Congress for over four decades and have mobilised crowds for Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. But when it comes to Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath is our undisputed leader. Now, his son Nakul Nath is our first choice as the future Congress face in the state.”
A few steps away stood 23-year-old commerce graduate Niraj Pal from Morena district in northern Madhya Pradesh. “We have come with our MLA from the Morena seat, Dinesh Gurjar, to celebrate our leader Kamal Nath Ji’s birthday and support our young leader, Nakul Nath Bhaiya.”
A short distance away, at the sprawling Civil Lines bungalow, stood 55-year-old Shiv Malviya, a Congress worker from Nath’s family stronghold of Chhindwara. “We don’t know any other leader except Kamal Nath. Our future is Nakul Nath. We will work for his victory in the 2028 Assembly elections from the Chhindwara seat and then ensure that he becomes the Congress face in the state.”
Importantly, Kamal Nath, the nine-time former MP from the Chhindwara Lok Sabha constituency in the Mahakoshal region, is currently serving his second term as MLA from Chhindwara, while his elder son, Nakul Nath, is a former MP from the Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat.
The slogans raised by supporters demanding that Nakul Nath be made the Congress face in Madhya Pradesh reverberated through the gathering, a day after posters carrying the message “Madhya Pradesh ki Majboori Hai, Nakul Nath Jaroori Hai” (Nakul Nath is indispensable for Madhya Pradesh) were put up by some supporters outside the MP Congress headquarters in Bhopal.
The Deepawali gathering, held on Saturday to mark the birth anniversary of the country's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, served a twin purpose. It was both a Deepawali get-together, hosted by Kamal Nath at the same venue over the past few years, and a celebration of the former Chief Minister’s birthday, which falls on November 18, when he turns 79.
“This isn’t any show of strength. When my father became the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in 2020, he started hosting the Deepawali get-together and his birthday party together at this very venue. Since he couldn’t come this time, he has sent me to ensure that the tradition continues,” the 2019 Chhindwara Lok Sabha winner, Nakul Nath, said during a brief interaction with journalists.
Nath junior, who cut individual birthday cakes brought by his father’s supporters and Congress workers from various districts, was asked about the supporters demanding that he be made the Congress face in Madhya Pradesh. He made it clear “Chhindwara will always be my first love. As far as who will become the Chief Minister when the party comes to power in the state is concerned, that will be decided by the party only.”
The development comes three days after two-time former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, during his ongoing Ujjain-Ayodhya Satya Sanatan Swabhiman Yatra, said that Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Jitu Patwari and Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar would lead the party in the 2028 Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, Saturday’s gathering at Kamal Nath’s Bhopal bungalow was attended not only by present and former legislators considered loyal to the septuagenarian former Union Minister but also by nearly the entire state leadership of the party.
Those present included state Congress chief Jitu Patwari, Digvijaya Singh’s son and three-time sitting MLA and former minister Jaivardhan Singh, and the Congress central leadership’s in-charge for Madhya Pradesh, Harish Chaudhary. Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar, however, was absent.
“The entire Congress is united and strong and will succeed in future elections. Nakul Ji is our brother, and he will now be coming to Madhya Pradesh every week,” MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari said, adding that it was not wrong for senior politicians to explore future political possibilities for their children.
“Be it Jaivardhan Singh (Digvijaya Singh’s son), Nakul Nath, Arun Yadav (son of former Deputy Chief Minister late Subhash Yadav) or our current Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar (nephew of former Deputy Chief Minister late Jamuna Devi), all are part of the MP Congress’s new and young team. They will work together, without any ego, to oust the BJP government from Madhya Pradesh,” Patwari added.
