Kamal Nath Is Not Joining BJP: Congress Confirms

In what appeared to be a high-octane political maneuvering by the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and senior Congress leader Kamal Nath to establish his supremacy in the party, new twists have emerged. According to the latest reports, a rumour that captured national headlines and sparked a social media meme frenzy has been debunked: Kamal Nath is not joining the BJP, and he is staying with the party. However, some still argue that his negotiations with the BJP have failed, leading to the new headline.

Calling the whole drama manifested in last 48 hours — which included several press conferences, hundreds of news stories, many denials and protests — “misuse of media,” Congress leader Jitendra Singh said Kamal Nath “is a Congress person and will continue to be a Congress person”.

Mr Singh told NDTV, the media house that was at the forefront of reporting the rumour, that it was a conspiracy against Kamal Nath. The former union minister, who was once called “third son” by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, reportedly told Mr Singh that all those things were merely rumours.

According to Mr Singh, Kamal Nath stated that he would continue to uphold Congress ideology until his last breath.

Earlier, whenever he was asked in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh about the rumour of him joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the nine-time MP from Chhindwara had said, “I will inform you if something like that happens.”

Senior Congress leader from Madhya Pradesh, Digvijay Singh, and state Congress president Jitu Patwari have also maintained the position that the former chief minister will not be leaving the party.

What fueled the rumour was Kamal Nath”s visit to the national capital, where all senior leaders, including Prime Minister Modi, former president and home minister Amit Shah, and BJP national president JP Nadda, are present for the national council meeting of the saffron party. One more reason for the fire was comments from Kamal Nath loyalists in Madhya Pradesh who said that their leader is not getting respect and works in their constituencies are not being done since they are in the Opposition.

Kamal Nath was heavily criticised by party members and media for the huge defeat of the grand old party in recently concluded Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections in which Congress managed to get 66 seats, down 48 from previous election tally. Many accused Kamal Nath, whose under the elections were fought, of not campaigning properly and causing trouble in the newly formed INDIA alliance.