Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Jitu Patwari denied the rumors about Kamal Nath potentially switching to the BJP, stating that the senior Congress figure assured him that he had no intentions of leaving.
Patwari told PTI on Sunday, “The BJP misuses the media and questions the integrity of a person and this has come to light. I had a talk with Kamal Nath ji who told me that the reports floating in the media were part of a conspiracy. He told me that he was a Congressman and will remain in Congress."
“His relationship with the Gandhi family is unshakable. He has lived with the ideology of Congress and will remain with it till the end. This is what he told me,” the Congress leader added.
The rumours about Congress veteran Kamal Nath and his son Nakul Nath switching to BJP has taken a new turn after Madhya Pradesh spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party Narendra Saluja shared a photo of the father and son duo with the caption 'Jai Shree Ram'.
Narendra Saluja further fuelled the speculations that Nath and his son are set to leave Congress and join BJP ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Saluja on Sunday posted a photo of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi along with media panellist Alok Sharma and he captioned it with "Rahul Gandhi has expressed his choice, now it is the turn of the other..."
Here Saluja referred to Kamal Nath as the other person who is yet to make a choice.
Alok Sharma had earlier reportedly blamed Kamal Nath for the loss of Congress in Madhya Pradesh assembly elections in 2023 on television which was followed by the party issuing a notice against his comments. Saluja through his post implied that Rahul Gandhi has made his choice by keeping Sharma close to him even after the controversy.
According to Hindustan Times, a BJP leader said that the father-son duo might join BJP on Sunday. He reportedly said, “Talks with senior leaders including union home minister, Amit Shah, and national president, JP Nadda, are going on. If all goes well, he will join the BJP on Sunday in the presence of senior-most BJP leaders."
Kamal Nath on Saturday denied to confirm the speculations when he spoke to the reporters, he said, "If there would be any such thing, I would inform you first."
Other senior leaders from Congress Party also denied that the speculations were true. Digvijay Singh speaking to reporters said, "A person who started his political journey and stood with the Nehru-Gandhi family when Indira Gandhi was sent to jail by the Janata Party, do you think such a person will ever leave Congress and the Gandhi family?"
Sing also claimed that Nath's character is such that he won’t yield to the pressure of central agencies like ED, I-T or CBI.
Jitu Patwari called Nath Indira Gandhi's 'third son' and asked, "Can anyone dream of Indiraji's third son quitting Congress?"
Congress leader Deepak Saxena spoke to PTI on Sunday and he said, "Kamal Nath has been neglected since (2023 Assembly) elections."
Further adding, "No one would have thought that Bhupesh Baghel would lose. We lost in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan where we didn't think we would lose. But why is only Kamal Nath being blamed for it."
7 Congress MLAs loyal to Kamal Nath reach Delhi
Several Madhya Pradesh MLAs, who support Kamal Nath, arrived in Delhi on Sunday.
According to PTI report, three of these legislators are from Chhindwara, and an additional three from the area are expected to travel to Delhi.
The legislators did not respond to the media and there are reports from within the Congress suggesting that Nath loyalist and former state minister Lakhan Ghangoriya is also in Delhi with them.
In March 2020, another senior leader, Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with several MLAs loyal to him, joined the BJP, leading to the downfall of the Congress government led by Nath.
