Kamal Nath’s road rally in Gwalior turns into Congress’s show of strength

kamalnath_roadshow Former chief minister Kamal Nath during a road show in Gwalior

Ex-chief minister and MP Congress Committee president Kamal Nath on Friday conducted a mega road show in Gwalior in an attempt to display the extent of support to the party in the region ahead of the crucial by-polls.

A considerable crowd joined the road show from airport to the memorial of Rani Laxmibai—a 7km stretch. Congress workers gathered at various points to welcome Nath, who is on a two-day tour of Gwalior, and showered petals on him.

This is the first major attempt of the Congress at a show of strength in by-polls bound Gwalior-Chambal region that has always been considered a family bastion of Rajya Sabha member Jyotiraditya Scindia.

This is the first time in several years that the Congress will be going to polls in the region without the support of the Scindia family. However, the party managed to bring enough supporters to present an impressive show on Friday. Of the 28 seats up for by-polls, 16 are in Gwalior-Chambal region and this has made the region a hotbed of politics currently.

Meanwhile, activists of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) who were trying to show black flags to Kamal Nath asking him to go back, had a scuffle with the police. The cops resorted to mild cane-charge on the activists to push them back. Before the road show started, BJYM and Congress members had a confrontation when the former tore up some Congress posters at Padav Square.

At the end of the road show, Kamal Nath paid tributes at the Memorial of Rani Laxmibai. Later, the ex-CM met the party office bearers, workers and different delegations. On Saturday he will hold meetings with sector office bearers of the party from Gwalior and Dabra constituencies and also hold a meeting with district president of the party for by-polls preparation.

Earlier in the day, Home Minister Narottam Mishra who also hails from Gwalior questioned as to where Kamal Nath was during his tenure as chief minister as he never visited Gwalior then.

Kamal Nath responded to this point while talking to the media saying that he never interefered in Gwalior-Chambal politics earlier as some people had issues (indicating Scindia) but Friday’s public response reinforced the support for Congress in the region. He also said that over the years, Gwalior-Chambal had receded to the background and there was no progress, but now his focus will be squarely on the region.

He also said that the BJP was trying its best to stop him from visiting Gwalior, but they were not successful and no one could stop him.

BJP ex-MLA Parul Sahu joins Congress

Before leaving for Gwalior, Kamal Nath inducted BJP ex-MLA Parul Sahu into the Congress fold at an event in Bhopal. As a BJP candidate, Sahu had defeated revenue and transport minister Govind Rajput (then in Congress) in 2013 Assembly elections, but lost to him in 2018 polls. Since Rajput’s entry in the BJP, Sahu has been publicly opposing the move and this culminated in her joining the Congress on Friday. She is likely to be the Congress candidate from Surkhi constituency in Sagar against Rajput in the upcoming by-polls.

Speaking on the occasion, Kamal Nath said that Sahu’s family has close links to Congress and this is like her returning home. He also said that the BJP had given such a bad name to Madhya Pradesh by indulging in horse trading that he got embarrassed in political circles in Delhi.

“The BJP should remember that they might purchase some leaders, but they can’t purchase the voters and it is the voters who will show them what kind of politics would prevail in Madhya Pradesh,” Kamal Nath said.

Sahu said that she was fighting against politics of terror and ego and she was happy to join back her family, that is Congress.

In another major development, ex-minister Mahendra Boudh resigned as the president of the SC cell of MP Congress on Friday evening even as Kamal Nath visited Gwalior. Boudh was considered a prominent dalit leader of Gwalior-Chambal region and was an aspirant for ticket from Bhander constituency in Datia. The Congress, however, decided to field ex-Bahujan leader Phool Singh Baraiya from the seat, upsetting Boudh, sources said.

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