Kamal Nath defection chapter closed, BJP leaders say it was never on the cards

The Congress ticket to Nakul Nath from the family turf of the Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat has ended all speculation regarding he and his father Kamal Nath switching to the BJP.

However, as per BJP sources, this was never under serious consideration, with the push coming more from Kamal Nath and a small section of the state BJP.

“Unlike in the case of other inductions, there was no signal from the Prime Minister’s Office regarding this. Kamal Nath was keen on joining the BJP and some state leaders took it up. But in the BJP, induction of leaders at that level happens only after PM Narendra Modi takes the call, and the party is asked to follow up,” a senior BJP leader said.

Familiar with the functioning of the Madhya Pradesh unit of the BJP, the leader said the party would not have achieved “anything” by bringing the Congress veteran and its state chief into its fold. “Yes, the BJP sometimes acts keeping the long term in mind, just to disturb the status quo. But when you carry such a heavy baggage as Kamal Nath, the party is not interested,” the leader said, referring to the Congress veteran’s alleged association with Emergency excesses and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Two other key BJP leaders said the party was not interested in Kamal Nath, though they were still okay with the idea of Nakul, a first-time MP with little history, joining it. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Chhindwara seat won by Nakul was the only Madhya Pradesh constituency that did not go to the BJP.

However, sources said, Nakul did not want to join without his father, as “it would have left Kamal Nath isolated in the Congress”.

Speculation regarding Kamal Nath, a nine-time MP and short-lived Madhya Pradesh CM, leaving for the BJP has been circulating since