Veteran Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath is all set to make a comeback in national politics, and is likely to be entrusted with important responsibilities by his party. The 77-year politician, who made his debut in the Congress way back in 1969, has perhaps won more elections than any of his current contemporaries; he was Lok Sabha MP from Chhindwara nine times and a member of the Assembly on two occasions.
His son and wife too were elected once each from Chhindwara, a constituency, he has nurtured for over 44 years. His son, Nakul Nath lost this time and the defeat continues to baffle those who have supported the family for such a long time. In the past few years, Kamal Nath had shifted his base to Bhopal and focused only on state affairs. However, his recent meetings with both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, have triggered speculation that the party may want to use him at the national level given his vast experience of politics. Till very recently, Chhindwara was the only constituency where the Congress had won the Lok Sabha seat and all the Assembly segments, making it as a remarkable feat, which was not replicated anywhere. The 2024 polls, changed things but Kamal Nath, is one person who would never give up. After the Congress defeat both in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly and the Parliament elections, his detractors started casting aspersions on his abilities and at one stage even suggested that he was likely to join the Saffron Brigade. A blue-blooded Congressman, who has served the party for over 55 years, Kamal Nath was undeterred and while maintaining a low profile, very uncharacteristic of him, remained in touch with the High Command. It is learnt that the central leadership wants to involve him in setting the party in order in some of the States. To begin with, he is likely to be given charge of Haryana, which he knows exceedingly well since his days as the general secretary of the State. The High Command is worried that factionalism could come in the way of an assured victory and therefore only someone like Kamal Nath, who has the extra-ordinary knack of carrying people with him, could bring some semblance. It is well recognized in the party that amongst senior leaders, Kamal Nath is probably the most structured politician, who has his time and man management in order, and relies on inter-personal relations to settle differences and disputes. He is expected to play the role which Ghulam Nabi Azad, at one stage was called upon to do and many believe that he may carry out his tasks in a better and more efficient manner. There are also conjectures that Kamal Nath could be inducted into the Working Committee and some of the key bodies of the party and along with Ambika Soni, may be in consideration for a possible Rajya Sabha berth as and when it comes up. Incidentally, Ambika Soni too had joined active politics in 1969, and besides Kamal Nath, remains one of the closest leaders to the Gandhi family. Both of them are the amongst the few, who were a part of the inner team of Sonia Gandhi, and are still active and are consulted on important matters as and when it is required. Both of them have also worked with all the Gandhis starting with Indira Gandhi and are considered Gandhi loyalists.
For those who are unaware, Kamal Nath, was a class mate of Sanjay Gandhi in the Doon School and enjoyed his trust. In fact, when Sanjay held negotiations with the late Raj Narain at the Pusa road residence of Industrialist, Kapil Mohan, to topple the Morarji Desai government, Kamal Nath always accompanied him. Significantly, when the 1980 Lok Sabha tickets were distributed, Kamal Nath would carry a file of candidates on the dashboard of his car, and would tell aspirants who would come to meet him at a Hotel in New Delhi, whether their name was there or not.
During the emergency, Indira Gandhi, had sent a message to Jyoti Basu, who later became the West Bengal Chief Minister, that he was not going to be arrested. The story is that armed with a chit which gave a Calcutta address, Kamal Nath had reached the city, and on reaching the designated place, was informed by one of the occupants that Basu was not present. After he demanded to meet Basu as he was there on a mission undertaken at the behest of the Prime Minister, the man allowed him in and he had his meeting. The man turned out to be Amal Datta, who later became a CPM MP. Kamal Nath also knew Rajiv Gandhi, his senior in school and also because he was Sanjay’s elder brother.
When Rajiv became the Prime Minister, Kamal Nath made his debut in the Council of Ministers. Sonia Gandhi during her tenure as the Congress president entrusted him with various responsibilities including making him general secretary in-charge of several states including Delhi and Gujarat. While he was Delhi in-charge and Sheila Dikshit was in her first term, she wanted to drop two ministers—Krishna Tirath and Yoganand Shastri. Kamal Nath was not amused and after consulting the High Command, he said that not two but four would be dropped, the other two being Parvaiz Hashmi and Narendra Nath, both close to Sheila. This way he ensured that some young leaders, who were second time MLAs also made it to the Council of Ministers. In short, Kamal Nath is back on the big Congress stage to begin with.