“I have given my youth to the people of Chhindwara, now I am committing my last breath to the people here” — veteran congress leader Kamal Nath hopes this emotional appeal will make the voters elect his son Nakul Nath in this Lok Sabha election. On the campaign trail with the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister, CNN-News18 found the veteran leader appealing to the emotional connect that he has had with Chhindwara for the past four decades.
Kamal Nath’s son Nakul is the Congress candidate from Chhindwara but his father’s imprint is everywhere. The election campaign vehicle has the father-son duo’s pictures plastered all over and the speeches at election rallies are all about giving “Nakul Bhaiya” the vote because of what “Kamalnath ji has given to Chhindwara”.
“I have never bothered about my health, or my family. My focus has always been the people of Chhindwara. Who knew about Chhindwara 44 years ago? I set up skill development centres to help the youth here,” Nath Senior said. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in rally after rally has alleged that Kamal Nath has only promoted his own family.
MP Nakul Nath was the sole Congress candidate who survived the saffron surge in Madhya Pradesh in 2019. Since then, a lot of water has flown down the Nag river here.
Many Congress workers including Chhindwara mayor Vikram Ahake, former MLA Deepak Saxena, his son and Congress leader Ajay Saxena, Amarwara MLA Kamlesh Shah, and hundreds of workers have switched sides to join the BJP.
Kamal Nath refused to give a direct answer when asked how the exodus would impact the prospects of the Congress this election. “I have seen 44 years of politics and elections. There are three layers: there is the neta, the karyakarta, and then the voter. Netas leaving or staying don’t alone make or break elections. It is the voter who is the king,” he said.
The remark came even as chief minister Mohan Yadav’s roadshow turned streets of Chhindwara saffron.
Kamal Nath did not want to comment on the BJP but his party worker Mohan Sahu waiting for an audience with him pointed out: “In the last assembly election also 25 heavyweight ministers came to campaign, yet our win margin increased by 11,000…This time also we will win. It doesn’t matter who has quit the party, who has moved on,” he said.
The former CM told CNN-News18 he believes the voters would keep in mind the economic independence that he got for the people of Chhindwara. “Mazdoori apni, gitti apna, tractor apna…That is how people of Chhindwara became independent. In the bazaars here you don’t get products from Jabalpur or Nagpur. You make things and earn your living,” he said.
But Nath Senior realises that the threat from the BJP this time is far greater. In 2014, Kamal Nath won this seat by a margin of over one lakh votes. In 2019, Nakul won the seat for the Congress but the margin had come down to 37,500 votes. Vivek Bunty Sahu who lost the assembly polls to Kamal Nath in 2023 is hoping to reverse the setback and defeat Nakul.
We asked Kamal Nath how the psephologist in him read the elections. “Don’t ask me…See the turnout…See the enthusiasm in the people,” he signed off.
But before flying off in his chopper from the Chaurai Vidhan Sabha seat he reminded the voters: “Aap mere sabse bade gawah hain…Aap sachhai ko pehchan lijiye…Sachhai ka saath dijiye…Apni aakhri saans tak apni zindagi main aapko samarpit karta hu. (Recognise the truth. Stand with the truth. I pledge my life to you till my dying breath).”
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