On Tuesday, before starting campaign for the mini-midterm elections involving 24 assembly seats in the state, Former chief minister and Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath offered prayers at Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain.
Madhya Pradesh's political jungle has come alive with "tigers" and "lions" dominating the face-off between rivals Congress and the BJP who have engaged in a 'Jungle Book' wordplay in the State ahead of the Assembly bypolls later this year.
Barbs and counter-barbs between the Congress and the BJP have gone on for quite some time in Madhya Pradesh. By picking on Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the BJP's recent acquisition Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kamal Nath seems to have focussed on voter's sympathy for a "wronged party."
The BJP's quick reaction through virtual rallies intensified the battle. Leader after leader from the BJP kept blaming the Congress of spreading lies and indulging in corruption.
About the BJP's allegations of corruption, Kamal Nath said his party would welcome a thorough investigations into the 15-month rule of his government. "We have the public as our witness. The farmers will decide if our government was true to the promise or not."
Asked about the "Tiger zinda hai" comment from Scindia and Chouhan, Kamal Nath said the public will soon hand its verdict on who is a tiger or a cat or a mouse, as it knows everything. He said people of Madhya Pradesh are straightforward and sensible. They know who the betrayer is and where the state is headed under the new government which earned the power under a deal and is still haggling with the wheelers and dealers.
There are striking similarities between his present campaign and the one he led in 2018 to bring the Congress back into power after 15 years. Kamal Nath had started the campaign with a pooja at Ujjain. The key difference of course is the absence of Scindia, who blindsided him and his departure with a big chunk of the party caused the current campaign. Scindia was the campaign convenor then.
Though Kamal Nath and former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh were the senior leaders in the party, Scindia was presented as the youth face to draw the electorate. Digvijaya Singh was asked to bring about a patch up between various factions. Kamal Nath was thus the key campaigner. He retains that status.
(Inputs from Agencies)
