Addressing a public rally on June 7 at Pipliya Mandi in Mandsaur district, Congress President Gandhi had announced his party would waive farm loans within 10 of coming to power in the state. "Here Kamal Nath (MP Congress president) and Jyotiraditya Scindia (the state Congress poll campaign committee chairman) are sitting. The day the Congress comes to power in MP, count 10 days, I say with guarantee that farmer loans will be waived within 10 days. It won't take even the eleventh day," Gandhi had said at the rally. Later, this announcement was included in the Congress election manifesto.
Soon after Nath signed the file, Gandhi tweeted: CM, Madhya Pradesh, waives farm loans. 1 done. 2 to go. Riding on its promise of farm loan waiver, the Congress won 114 seats, two seats short of majority in the 230-member House. Kamal Nath, who was instrumental in the Congress' victory in Madhya Pradesh, bringing to an end 15-year BJP rule in the central state.
The 72-year-old Kamal Nath, who represented Chhindwara for nine terms in the Lok Sabha, was the only one to take the oath even as the other contender to the Chief Minister's post, Jyotiraditya Scindia, was present. The ceremony was held an hour behind schedule at 2.30 p.m.
The brief ceremony was attended by Congress President Rahul Gandhi, former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and H.D. Deve Gowda, outgoing Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, another former BJP Chief Minister Babulal Gaur and a galaxy of national leaders in a show of opposition unity ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Among the opposition stalwarts present were NCP leaders Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and his Karnataka counterpart H.D. Kumaraswamy, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, TMC leader Dinesh Trivedi, JMM chief Hemant Soren, DMK leaders M.K. Stalin, T.R. Balu and Kanimozhi, Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Shard Yadav and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana leader and MP Raju Shetti.
Congress leaders who were present included Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his deputy Sachin Pilot, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, Puducherry Chief Minster V. Narayanaswamy, former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Minister D.K, Shivakumar, Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, UP Congress President Raj Babbar and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda
BSP chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, whose parties have extended support to the Congress government, were conspicuous by their absence. Earlier, Kamal Nath told the media that he had invited West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee personally but she expressed her inability because she was occupied with the rituals in connection with her mother's death anniversary.
Before the ceremony started, Kamal Nath greeted the leaders on the stage and held Shivraj Singh Chouhan's hand and greeted the people in which Scindia also joined. The scenes were lapped up by the hundreds of Congress activists and supporters gathered there. Representatives of various religions including saffron-clad saints were present at the function. Among them was the 'computer' baba who was offered a Minister of State status by the Chouhan government.
(With inputs from agencies)