A meeting between former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Thursday triggered speculation about a larger role for him in the party. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was present at the meeting.
Kamal Nath's name is doing the rounds for a bigger role in the revamped Congress organisation even as the party has made little progress in moving to appoint a full-time president. Reports had claimed Kamal Nath could be made working president of the Congress.
However, Kamal Nath was quick to dismiss the speculation. He told NDTV, "Talk about my becoming Congress president is rubbish. I keep meeting Mrs Gandhi and keep discussing various issues related to the party." Kamal Nath added that the discussions with Sonia Gandhi revolved around the political crisis in Punjab caused by the feud between Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and his former cabinet colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Kamal Nath is reported to be close to Amarinder Singh, who rules just one of three states controlled fully by the Congress.
Kamal Nath told The Indian Express he was not eyeing a return to national politics. Kamal Nath said, "I am in Madhya Pradesh and will remain in Madhya Pradesh."
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Kamal Nath has been a veteran of the party and shares good ties with senior party leaders including those who are part of the group of 23 leaders who had written to the Congress chief seeking the organisation's overhaul. NDTV reported “Sonia Gandhi is banking on Kamal Nath to reach out to the leaders who have been upset for some time”.
The former chief minister's meeting with Sonia also comes ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament. Kamal Nath shares good relations with leaders of some opposition parties. Kamal Nath had also recently met Sharad Pawar at his Delhi residence, after the NCP chief met some opposition leaders amid talk of the formation of a larger opposition front against the BJP.
(With PTI inputs)
