Congress leader Kamal Nath landed in Delhi on Saturday, amid speculations that he is considering switching to the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The Madhya Pradesh veteran, one of the most powerful Congress leaders after the Gandhi family, has not confirmed the major shift. More significantly, he hasn't refuted it.
Why is "Indira Gandhi's third son" unhappy with the Congress? Lets have a look at possible reasons:
1. Sajjan Singh Verma, a close assistant of Kamal Nath, stated that when a "big politician" decides to cut links with his organisation, "all three factors work behind it." He stated that three things function in politics: "maan, apmaan, and swabhimaan (respect, insult, and self-respect)". Speaking with ANI, Singh stated: "When these factors are hurt, a person changes his decisions...When such a top politician who has done a lot for Congress and the nation in the last 45 years, thinks of moving away from his party, then all three factors work behind it." However, he stated that no decision has been made on Kamal Nath's departure from the Congress. "...right there is just speculation," he continued.
2. There are suggestions that Kamal Nath may be "unhappy" over not being nominated for the Rajya Sabha elections this year. However, sources informed NDTV that this was incorrect. They were cited as claiming that the former chief minister lobbied for Ashok Singh's candidacy from Madhya Pradesh and opposed Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination. Natarajan was believed to be Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's choice for the upper house.
3. According to insiders, one of the reasons Kamal Nath may have joined the BJP is to secure his son's political future. According to media reports, Kamal Nath wants his son to be given "big responsibility" in the BJP. Nakul Nath, like his father, may join the BJP, as per reports on Saturday. He is a Member of Parliament representing Chhindwara.
4. Jitu Patwari succeeded Kamal Nath as head of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee in December last year. This came shortly after the Congress suffered loss in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2023.
5. As per Hindustan Times report, Kamal Nath has been in touch with BJP leadership since the grand old party hold him responsible fot the party's debacle in Madhya Pradesh assembly elections.
Meanwhile, the Congress party attempted to placate Kamal Nath by referring to him as Indira Gandhi's third son. "For the first time when Kamal Nath fought elections, then Indira Gandhi said that Kamal Nath is her third son...in the 45 years of political journey of Kamal Nath, in both our good times and bad times, he has been working with the party for the last 7 years as Madhya Pradesh Congress chief. I still remember when Scindia toppled the Congress government in MP, all the Congress workers stood with Kamal Nath's leadership and ideology...the news that's speculated is baseless...can you imagine Indira Gandhi's third son leaving Congress? Can't think about something like that even in dreams," said Congress leader Jitu Patwari.
He also said that news of his quitting Congress are false.