As the state of Madhya Pradesh is all set to go for voting in assembly polls on November 17 for 230 constituencies, former Chief Minister of state Kamal Nath revealed the overall strategy of the Congress, keeping in sharp focus the strong campaign by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In an exclusive interview with NewsX, he said that since the BJP does not have any leading chief ministerial candidate in the state, the saffron party is trying to cash in on the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fetch votes.
Q: What are your strategies for the upcoming assembly polls in the state?
Congress party has always believed in the overall development of the state and that it does not discriminate on the basis of caste, religion, economic status, etc. The USP of the Congress has always been to promote goodwill and harmony among people based on the delivery of development works to common people. Being a national party, it does not change colour when it approaches any state polls. Its philosophy has been same everywhere. People want development, road, transport, security, better future and nothing else. People have no interest in who is going to be the next chief minister of the state. Since the BJP has failed to deliver during its tenure, it has started raising different issues for the polls.
Q: BJP has started weaving a narrative that Congress lacks vision to rule the state. What have you to say on this?
A: This is totally rubbish. Congress has always delivered with a clear vision with able leaders and the country knows it unlike the BJP. Who doesn’t know the contributions of the Congress leaders in the overall development of the country.
Q: Why is the BJP not projecting Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the next chief minister of the state in case the party wins the assembly polls?
A: The Central leadership of the BJP is fully aware of the works done by the incumbent chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The saffron party knows how the counter the damage done by CM Chouhan. That is why, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making whirlwind tour of Madhya Pradesh to seek votes but one thing is very clear and that is: People are not going to be misled by the false promises of the BJP this time.