As Kamal Nath ponders next move, the up and mostly downs of his time as MP Congress chief

While the 2018 Assembly election victory was one of his high points, the subsequent allegations of centralisation of power was a low point and his tenure ended with the Assembly poll debacle last year. Subsequently, Jitu Patwari replaced him at the helm of the MPPCC.

The 2018 success

Nath took over as MPCC chief in May 2018, six months ahead of the state polls. The Congress at the time lacked organisation in most districts and was riddled with factionalism. Some of its party offices lacked even basic infrastructure such as toilets.

Taking a leaf out of his own book, Nath pushed for block and booth-level management, a strategy that had helped him successfully retain the Chhindwara seat for four decades.

Nath’s skills as an astute politician and negotiator helped him overcome factionalism and unite the state Congress. Once the party was united, albeit temporarily, the Chhindwara strongman is said to have introduced a data-driven approach to campaigning and decision making within the MPCC. He utilised surveys and analytics to target specific demographics and introduced tailor-made messaging.

One of the most important contributions of the former CM was projecting himself as a Hanuman devotee and taking the party towards soft Hindutva, a ploy that was at the time labelled as an effective counter to the BJP’s Hindutva strategy and credited with helping the Congress shed its “anti-Hindu tag”. It was also seen as Nath’s ability to navigate the party successfully through a difficult ideological debate.

The lows

But the glow from that electoral victory proved short-lived as 15 months into its tenure, the Congress government led by Nath faced a rebellion led by Jyotiraditya Scindia and eventually collapsed.

It was a significant setback for the party and the instability within the Congress raised doubts about Nath’s ability to navigate internal dynamics and political alliances. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP swept Madhya Pradesh, winning 28 of the 29 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress managed to retain only Chhindwara.

Party insiders said a section of the MPCC was also critical of Nath’s leadership style and decision-making process. Adding to the party’s woes and creating hurdles in the unity and cohesion of the state unit, allegations of centralisation of power and lack of consultation were levelled against Nath.

The former CM, as the election in-charge of the state, is said to have taken a back seat in the run-up to the Assembly polls last. He shared an uneasy equation with All India Congress Committee (AICC) Madhya Pradesh in-charge Jai Prakash Aggarwal, who refused to name him as the party’s CM face and was eventually replaced by Randeep Surjewala two months before the elections.

Nath, who was anxious about the party breaking up, took the lead in the ticket distribution process but this led to a massive rebellion by several Congress leaders whom he was unable to pacify. He was also unsuccessful in stitching meaningful alliances with other INDIA bloc members. His “Akhilesh wakhilesh chhodo (Leave all this talk about Akhilesh)” comment had consequences at the national level as questions were raised over the effectiveness of the INDIA alliance of which both Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) led by Akhilesh Yadav are a part.