Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress leader, Kamal Nath has been reportedly asked to resign as the state Congress chief after the grand-old party performed poorly at the recently concluded state elections, sources told India Today. The Madhya Pradesh Congress chief is likely to meet party president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday and may tender his resignation from the post. He will also attend the INDIA alliance meeting scheduled on Wednesday.
At the Madhya Pradesh assembly election, BJP won 163 seats of the state's 230 seats, under the leadership of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, while Congress won just 66 seats.
Sources told India Today that the central leadership was upset over his remarks against many leaders of the INDIA bloc, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar, over seat sharing.
Earlier, the Samajwadi Party had asked for four to six seats, the JD(U) only one seat in Madhya Pradesh. Nath did not agree to the arrangement.
A PTI report also claimed that the Congress leadership is upset over Kamal Nath not meeting party leaders and workers of his party but meeting Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday.
On Sunday, addressing a press conference during the final stage of counting, Nath said: "We accept the mandate of Madhya Pradesh's voters in this democratic contest. We will fulfil the role of the Opposition."
He also congratulated the BJP for their victory in the state on the occasion.
"I congratulate the Bharatiya Janata Party and hope they will fulfil the responsibilities of the people who have given them this mandate," Nath said.
Madhya Pradesh has grown into a BJP stronghold for almost 20 years. In 2018, Congress dethroned Chouhan and formed the government. But it collapsed after 15 months after Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia quit Congress in March 2020.
He walked away with 16 MLAs from the Gwalior-Chambal belt who resigned from their constituencies. After the bye-elections in 2020, the BJP won nine of those seats, taking its total tally to 16.
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