“I am the only kamal in the Congress,” joked Kamal Nath once, referencing his name which in Hindi means ‘lotus’, the election symbol of the rival BJP. If the current buzz is proven true and Nath ends up quitting the party he has been associated with for decades to join the ruling BJP, it would mean the end of the Congress’ association with one of the oldest old-school leaders.
Kamal Nath, first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980, has the distinction of being seen in proximity with and in every picture of the Gandhis, from Indira Gandhi to Sanjay Gandhi to Rajiv Gandhi to Sonia Gandhi and now her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Nath, in fact, was one of the closest leaders to Sanjay Gandhi along with Ambika Soni in what came to be known as the ‘Young Turks’ club.
In 2004, when Sonia Gandhi decided to stitch together an alliance to take on the BJP, Kamal Nath played a critical role. He was the one who reached out to the DMK and it was thanks to him that film stars like Govinda joined the Congress then. The good equation he shared with many other political parties as well as corporates made him the natural choice to become the Parliamentary Affairs Minister whose primary role is chalking out the floor strategy in the House. Nath was also chosen to be the Commerce Minister. It was easy to get funds with Kamal Nath by the party’s side.
A drive to the Chhindwara Assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh, which has elected Kamal Nath nine times and is now represented by his son Nakul Nath, shows why the party veteran is invaluable to the state unit of the Congress.
Nath’s sprawling white house in Chhindwara stands out like an island. Huge crowds are always gathering outside and the area itself has seen much development. The rest of Madhya Pradesh may have turned saffron, but Nath’s bastion has remain untouched.
Sensing that the Congress won’t be back at the Centre anytime soon, Nath immersed himself in state politics. Despite Sonia Gandhi’s persuasion to take charge and firefight the BJP at the Centre, the Congress veteran refused. He became the 18th Chief Minister of the state in 2018, but his government didn’t last long.
There are many reasons why the old ties could have soured. Kamal Nath is believed to have wanted a Rajya Sabha seat, but it was given to party rival Digvijaya Singh’s close aide Ashok Singh instead.
Battling poor health, Kamal Nath also wants to ensure that his son Nakul Nath is in good hands. Sources say he has doubts on whether Nakul could win on a Congress ticket. He is uncertain how the Congress will fare in subsequent elections.
It’s now apparent that Kamal Nath doesn’t share with Rahul Gandhi the equation he shared with the latter’s parents Rajiv and Sonia. For the BJP, this ‘Kamal’ by its side would be a big blow to the Gandhis. For Kamal Nath, switching sides would mean this ‘Kamal’ would now have a new ‘Nath’ (god or leader).
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