Congress suffered a lot in MP in past few decades but is getting relief from factionalism to some extent

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Bhopal, May 17 (IANS) If the defeat in the assembly elections in November last year was a major setback for the Madhya Pradesh Congress and several prominent leaders joining the ruling BJP led to shrinking ground, it is also believed that these political developments of the past six months have some positive aspects too.

These setbacks have undoubtedly demoralised the Congress cadre. However, at the same time, to some extent it has reduced the factionalism the party has been suffering from for decades in Madhya Pradesh.

Until a few years back, the Congress in Madhya Pradesh boasted a number of stalwarts -- Jyotiraditya Scindia, Suresh Pachouri, Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, Ajay Singh (Rahul) with a strong base in their respective regions.

Scindia left the Congress and joined the BJP in March 2020 and contested the Lok Sabha election on the Lotus symbol in 2024. Suresh Pachouri also shifted to the BJP.

Another Congress veteran Kamal Nath led the party for over five years and under whose leadership the party won the assembly election in 2018. However, the political developments unfolding after the 2023 assembly elections restricted him to his pocket borough Chhindwara.

Kamal Nath managed to secure a ticket for his son Nakul Nath, however, he did not campaign beyond his bastion even after polling in Chhindwara was completed in the first phase on May 19.

He did not visit the Congress headquarters in Bhopal after he addressed a press conference in December last year, a Congress functionary told IANS.

"Kamal Nath has restructured the party and undoubtedly he led the party single handedly and he was an unopposed leader. But, rumours of his possible shifting to the BJP before the Lok Sabha elections and the drama which unfolded from Bhopal to Delhi was a drawback for him," a senior Congress leader said requesting anonymity.

Two other senior MP Congress leaders, Ajay Singh (Rahul) and Kamleshwar Patel, also do not have much to do because the party lost badly in the Vindhya region (BJP won 25 out of the 30 assembly seats in the Vindhya region) to which the duo belong.

Former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, who contested his last Lok Sabha election (as he announced) from his home district Rajgarh has given his full backing to new state party president Jitu Patwari, reliable sources in the Congress claimed.

"Jitu Patwari is Rahul Gandhi's choice, but he obliged Digvijaya Singh more than any other state leader because the latter has a strong base in the state. And overall, Jitu Patwari has always enjoyed Digvijaya Singh's support," another Congress leader said.

Now, the new MP Congress chief has started reshaping the party from top to bottom and the process will move ahead in earnest after the results of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections are announced on June 4.

After the Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh concluded on May 13, addressing a press conference Jitu Patwari said, "The party has lost four assembly elections between 2003 and 2023, and we can't always blame our opponent (BJP) every time. We need to introspect over it and the process will start soon after the Lok Sabha results are out."

--IANS

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