Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Wednesday made a courtesy call on Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The visit followed weeks of acrimonious, and sometimes vehement, personal exchanges following the collapse of the Congress government in March and leading up to bypolls of November 3.
Kamal Nath reached the chief minister’s house on Wednesday afternoon with a bouquet of red roses and the two leaders were seen exchanging broad smiles. Chouhan also offered a bouquet of flowers to Kamal Nath. The meeting of both the leaders in seclusion lasted about 30 minutes.
The BJP gained a clear majority in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly following the bypoll results announced late on Tuesday night. The BJP now has 126 seats in the 230-member house (one seat is vacant) while the Congress has ended up with 96, way behind the majority mark of 115.
The meeting came about as interesting in view of the fact that Chouhan and Kamal Nath were the big faces of the bypolls campaign for their respective parties and often ended up making serious and nasty allegations about each other during public meetings and in media statements. However, the personal camaraderie between the two top leaders in the state is often spoken about.
Kamal Nath, who is also the MP Congress Committee chief, after coming out of the meeting at the CM’s house, said that he had extended best wishes to Chief Minister Chouhan for the win. “I told him that there are several challenges before the state like unemployment and those related to farm sector. I have assured him that there would be no impediment from the side of opposition to the development of the state,” he told the media. He added that a meeting of Congress legislators has been called later on Wednesday and the defeat will be analysed in the meeting.
After their meeting, the chief minister tweeted to say “Ex-chief minister Kamal Nath met me at my residence and extended best wishes. I express heartfelt gratitude to him. We will all work for the progress of the state and welfare of the people with full dedication and capacity. Our vow is to make Madhya Pradesh the best state.”
CM meets governor
Later on Wednesday, Chouhan reached the Raj Bhavan to meet the in-charge governor Anandiben Patel. After meeting her, Chouhan tweeted that he apprised the governor of the success of the BJP in the bypolls and the people’s mandate. “She has given best wishes and blessings and I express heartfelt gratitude to her for her invaluable best wishes,” Chouhan tweeted.
Since the Chouhan government was already in place and had proven its majority in the house after taking over in March and given the result in favour of the ruling party, there is no hurry for any procedural steps to be taken in the House as of now. The only change that is impending is filling up the berths of the three ministers who have lost the elections. But with a full majority, Chouhan can do this at leisure, political commentators say.
