Amid Congress exodus & BJP's might, Kamal Nath holds strong in Chhindwara stronghold

Panna: The "hotseat" of Madhya Pradesh, the lone seat that the Congress managed to win in 2019, has seen a lot of drama this term. Chhindwara, has emerged as a battle of prestige between the BJP and the Congress. 

While the Congress has managed to retain the seat despite the BJP's surges in 2014 and 2019, this term, however, the BJP has directed its leaders and organisational heft, to defeat Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath, the Congress's candidate for the seat.

Union minister Amit Shah, party president JP Nadda and chief minister Mohan Yadav have held prominent campaign events in the seat. The BJP has fielded its district president, Vivek 'Bunty' Sahu, who has been an ABVP leader in the past. 

The seat has been Kamal Nath's turf for six decades, and the Congress managed to win all the seven assembly segments under it in the 2023 assembly elections. With Nath being one of the last few veterans of the Congress to have not moved over to the other camp, the Congress is also looking to hold the seat close to its chest. 

Speaking to DH,Nath said that he has dedicated his life to developing Chhindwara, and will do so till his “last breath".

"Chhindwara is a district where today there are six thousand kilometers of rural roads, it has the highest number of industries, it has a development center, modern farming is being done here, there is electricity in more than 2000 villages," Nath told DH. 

However, controversies and tussles have marred the campaign. A purported 'fake' video of Sahu, which has been in circulation, has led to the arrest of a journalist on charges of trying to defame Sahu and offering Rs 30 lakh to another journalist to do so. 

The flashpoint is that Nath's aide, RK Miglani, has been sent a notice by the local police, to explain his involvement in the case. In doing so, the police landed at the doorstep of Nath's Shikarpur residence. 

The Congress veteran has also been struggling to keep within his camp, with one of the seven MLAs under the constituency - Amarwara's Kamlesh Shah - leaving the party to join the BJP. Another of Nath's aides, Deepak Saxena, too, has left the party recently.

What has not helped matters for Kamal Nath is rumours of him moving to the BJP two months ago, which was marked by his studied silence. 

On the other hand, the BJP has put its organisational heft behind Sahu, known to be a street fighter, but yet is seen as a lightweight against Nath. To help him, Shah held a roadshow in Chhindwara on Tuesday, travelling by road to reach his destination even when his copter malfunctioned. 

“If you vote for Sahu, you will have a hotline to Delhi,” Shah said during his roadshow.