Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and senior Congress leader Kamal Nath and his son and Chhindwara MP, Nakul Nath are set to join Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). According to sources close to the Congress leader the joining is likely to happen on Sunday evening. The father-son duo reached Delhi on Saturday afternoon cutting short their scheduled programme in Chhindwara. The two have no public meetings with senior Congress leadership after their arrival.
Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Kamal Nath’s departure could hurt Congress as some party MLAs are also ready to switch sides. They are also in Delhi with Kamal Nath and will join the saffron party with him.
For BJP, Nath clan and supporters joining the party will boost their chances of winning all the 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh. Chhindwara is the only seat which the party has not managed to win even in the Modi wave of 2014 or 2019. It won only the bypoll when Sunder Lal Patwa defeated Kamalnath.
Congress Madhya Pradesh unit president Jitu Patwari has denied reports of Kamal Nath switching sides. The party was in touch with MLAs supporting Nath to try to dissuade them from leaving the party.