Sitting MP Nakul Nath has made an emotional appeal to voters by claiming that many of his close aides have “cheated him” by joining the BJP
Chhindwara, one of the most hotly contested Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, is a constituency the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won only once since 1951. This year though, Nakul Nath, son of veteran Congress leader Kamal Nath, is fighting hard to retain the family bastion amid a wave of defections within his party.
Among the top Congress leaders who quit to join the BJP are two former MLAs, sitting legislator and tribal leader Kamlesh Pratap Shah, Chhindwara mayor Vikram Ahakey, local municipal council chairman Ujjawal Singh Thakur and seven municipal corporators.
Nath, who is contesting against BJP’s Vivek Bunty Sahu, has made an emotional appeal to voters by claiming that many of his close aides have “cheated him” by joining the BJP.
“The residents of Chhindwara are like our family and they are fighting election with us to defeat cheaters and liars,” he said during a public meeting.
Many in Chhindwara, however, believe that the Nath family has dented the party’s chances in the Lok Sabha elections by not clearing speculations of the father-son duo joining the BJP in early March. So much so, that Nakul Nath even removed Congress from his social media bio.
Kamal Nath and his father Nakul Nath have been criticized for changing their bios and causing speculation about their departure from the Congress. A senior Congress leader expressed confidence in the party's victory, stating that the core team of Nath is still with the party and working to ensure his victory. Congress MLA Vijay Chaure criticized the BJP for conspiring against Nakul Nath, stating that voters in Chhindwara are wise enough to understand the conspiracy and that Congress has done a commendable job in the area.
On ground, the Congress continues to highlight the Chhindwara development model of Kamal Nath under which, he claimed to have brought industries such as Hindustan Uniliver, Raymonds and others to the region.
“I did not care about my health and family for the development of Chhindwara. I dedicated my entire life to the development of 2,000 villages in the district. Neither is my name linked to sand mining, nor to anyone’s land...you are witnesses to all these things. When I was the chief minister, people of other districts used to tell me that I am the CM of Chhindwara. I gave everything to Chhindwara,” Kamal Nath said while addressing a rally for his son on April 2 in Pandhurna.
On the other hand, the BJP is confident of giving the Naths a run for their money in this year’s general elections as an array of top leaders, including Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav and former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan have campaigned in the constituency.
The BJP has made the personal fortunes of Kamal Nath and his son, and dynastic politics the key poll planks to woo voters. Nakul Nath has declared assets of ₹649.52 crore, while those in his wife Priya’s name amount to ₹19.20 crore. The assets of the couple amount to ₹668.72 crore, which is ₹8 crore more than 2019. In the previous elections, he declared movable and immovable assets of ₹680 crores.
The BJP is also trying to make Nakul Nath’s comments against Kamlesh Shah, a Congress MLA who joined the BJP on March 29, as a key poll issue claiming that he insulted tribals. Nath had said that tribals are innocent and of simple nature who cannot be sold out. “But your elected MLA (Kamlesh Shah) turned out to be traitor or sold himself. I know you are intelligent enough and will vote one-sidedly to teach him lesson,” Nath had said on April 3.
The Chief Minister of India, Yadav, accused Kamal Nath of insulting Shah and tribals by crying foul to save his seat, claiming he had worked hard. Nath responded that calling a traitor 'a traitor' is not an insult to the tribal community. BJP candidate Sahu argued that the BJP's family has grown bigger, and they know they will win with a record vote margin. Nath and his family have only increased wealth in the past 45 years, and have not improved people's lives.
Kamal Nath, a prominent figure in Chhindwara, has made significant contributions to the local community, including road development and multinational company establishment. However, he faces challenges from the BJP-led state and central governments, inflation, and unemployment. Shopkeeper Shyam Raghuvanshi believes Chhindwara has been denied development works due to opposition party MLAs and MPs. The district has 1.6 million voters, and the Congress won all seats in the 2023 assembly elections. The BJP has only won once in the past 18 Lok Sabha elections, in 1997. Nakul Nath, who won in 2019, won by a margin of 37,536 votes, indicating a potential challenge for the locals.