Bastion Chhindwara lost to BJP, Kamal Nath bets on new tribal face in crucial bypoll

After failing to retain its stronghold of Chhindwara in the Lok Sabha elections, senior Congress leader Kamal Nath’s family is gearing up for another challenge.

Nath and his son, former MP Nakul Nath, have bet on newcomer Dheeran Shah Invati in the July 10 Assembly bypoll in Amarwara, a Scheduled Tribe (ST)-reserved seat that is part of the Chhindwara parliamentary seat. This election will be crucial in determining if the family can bounce back after the defeat in the Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat, which Nath represented seven times since 1980. Nakul won it in 2019 but lost this time to the BJP’s Bunty Vivek Sahu by 1 lakh votes.

Amid rumours of Nath and Nakul moving to the BJP in February, several Congress leaders, including many in Chhindwara, joined the BJP. The biggest blow to the Nath camp came when three-time Amarwara MLA Kamlesh Shah also deserted the Congress and jumped to the BJP. Amarwara is considered the turf of the Shah family. Shah has been elected MLA from this seat for three consecutive terms, with members of his family having served as legislators earlier. He belongs to the erstwhile Harrai royal family and is considered a strong tribal face. The BJP has fielded Shah and is hoping that his family’s influence and support base will pay dividends.

At present, of the seven Assembly segments that are part of the parliamentary constituency, the BJP holds Amarwara. The rest are with the Congress.

To counter their former associate, the Naths and the Congress required a tribal face and they found a fit in Invati who is the son of Sukhram dada, the chief of Anchalkund Dham that is a popular tribal Hindu temple in Chhindwara. Invati, a former cooperative bank employee, told The Indian Express, “The people of Amarwara put a