Will Congress heed MP electorate’s rejection of Kamal Nath-Digvijaya Singh jodi?

Former MP CMs and senior Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh (left) and Kamal Nath. (PTI Image/File)

AICC general secretary in charge of Madhya Pradesh Randeep Singh Surjewala had dubbed Congress veterans Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh as Jai and Veeru of ‘Sholay’ (1975), presumably to emphasise their friendship in the run up to the assembly election in Madhya Pradesh.

On December 3, it turned out that the electorate apparently made a clear distinction between the two characters still fresh in people’s minds and Surjewala's version of Jai-Veeru, which was essentially two past-their-prime politicians lacking in mass appeal to charm voters or the political smarts to outfox the BJP.

So, voters comprehensively rejected the application of vintage ‘75 cinematic metaphor of friendship between Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh.

The Age Factor

Political analysts are attributing the BJP’s stunning victory in Madhya Pradesh assembly election to mainly two factors – Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vigorous campaigning and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s flagship Ladli Behna Yojana. The analysis is true but only partly so.

More crucial two factors that led to the Congress’s crushing defeat in the election was its ideological overlapping with Hindutva and the party’s projection of its two-man gerontocracy – Kamal Nath (77) and Digvijaya Singh (76) – as the harbingers of change.

The septuagenarian duo are relics of the 1980s’ politics, thrust upon the party’s state unit then for want of more credible younger leaders. Ironically, the face of change in the fray – Kamal Nath – was 13 years older than the face of the status quo, Shivraj Singh Chouhan (64). Although he had ruled as Chief Minister for 18 years, Chouhan still exuded more youthfulness in comparison.

Kamal Nath’s Failures

Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh tightly supervised and executed most election-related decisions in the state Congress, leaving little room for involvement from the younger lot in the party. Acutely conscious of the duo’s clout in the high command, all Congressmen and women fell in line to their diktats.

Kamal Nath peremptorily picked candidates, citing internal party surveys that no other party leaders, except possibly Digvijaya Singh, had any clue about. The high command’s offer of a proven political strategist like Sunil Kanogolu, now credited for both Karnataka and Telangana wins, was also reportedly turned down. When seat distribution triggered revolts in a dozen constituencies, Kamal Nath yielded to change candidates in some places but not before kicking up an unsavoury controversy.

His infamous “tear Digvijaya Singh’s clothes” jibe was provoked by a demonstration of the supporters of a candidate who was denied ticket. Next day, Digvijaya Singh tauntingly responded to the jibe. The controversial banter in an open meeting between the two veterans gave ammo to the BJP to deride the “kapda phad” politics in the Congress.

If that wasn’t damaging enough for the party, Kamal Nath  contemptuously rejected proposals for seat adjustment with INDIA alliance partners. His curt “Akhilesh-Vakhilesh” remark must be still ringing in the Samajwadi Party supremo’s ears. Earlier, the PCC chief had announced cancellation of the INDIA alliance’s first public meeting that was scheduled to take place in Bhopal.

Again, it was Kamal Nath who unilaterally decided to pit the Congress against the BJP in a competitive display of religiosity. Digvijaya Singh, whose antipathy to Hindutva is well known, grudgingly surrendered to the PCC chief’s ploy.

Can Congress High Command Act?

As the results show, all the strategies that Kamal Nath  sounded so confident about ahead of the election miserably flopped. The BJP, which looked vulnerable on account of 18 years of anti-incumbency, got its acts together with remarkable swiftness and scored a historic victory.

The road ahead for Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh has virtually hit a cul-de-sac. While Kamal Nath has a facesaver in his own victory and Congress’s sweep in all seven seats in Chhindwara district, Digvijaya Singh has not been that lucky. His brother Laxman Singh lost the election and son Jaivardhan Singh barely scraped through in their traditional Raghogarh seat. Digvijaya Singh’s Rajya Sabha term is due to expire in 2026 and by that time he will turn 79.

Now that the election is over, muted voices in the party are bound to find expression for the duo’s respectable retirement. Earlier, such voices had arisen in March 2020, when the veterans had failed to prevent revolt by Jyotiraditya Scindia that caused toppling of the Congress government.

But the high command ignored the pleas for  resignation of Kamal Nath. Far from it, the Gandhis chose to give virtually untrammelled power to their family acolyte for the next election. The same blunder could be suicidal for any chance of a Congress revival in Madhya Pradesh. Five months later, Lok Sabha election is due and the Congress has another opportunity to take on the BJP.

Rakesh Dixit is a senior journalist based in Bhopal. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.