New Delhi:

Days after its drubbing within the Madhya Pradesh elections, the Congress has changed senior chief and former chief minister Kamal Nath because the state unit chief with different backward class (OBC) chief Jitu Patwari. 

OBCs account for over 50% of voters in Madhya Pradesh and the number of Mr Patwari – who misplaced to a BJP candidate from the Sau Meeting seat with a margin of over 35,000 votes – is being seen because the get together’s try to make a contemporary begin within the essential heartland state forward of the all-important Lok Sabha elections, that are lower than 4 months away. 

After Mr Patwari’s appointment, hypothesis is rife in regards to the political way forward for Kamal Nath, who’s now 77 years outdated and has been a Union Cupboard minister, nine-time Lok Sabha MP and the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh for about 15 months. He was the president of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee for over 5 years and needed to resign as chief minister in 2020 after the rise up by senior chief Jyotiraditya Scindia. 

On this 12 months’s elections, which had been held on November 17, the Congress had managed to safe solely 66 seats within the 230-member Meeting and the BJP had received 163 regardless of being in energy in Madhya Pradesh for practically twenty years. 

Regardless of the loss in Chhattisgarh, nevertheless, the Congress has determined to retain Deepak Baij because the state unit chief.

Caste Math

In Madhya Pradesh the get together has additionally appointed Umang Singhar because the Congress Legislative Social gathering chief, which signifies that he would be the Chief of the Opposition within the Meeting, and has picked Hemant Katare because the deputy chief.

The picks are vital as, other than effecting a generational change, in addition they mirror the Congress’ try at caste balancing. Kamal Nath is a Brahmin chief and has now been changed with an OBC chief in Jitu Patwari. Umang Singhar is a tribal and the nephew of late Jamuna Devi, who was a former deputy chief minister and represented the state each within the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. 

The naming of Hemant Katare could have been accomplished with an eye fixed on retaining the votes of the Brahmin group after changing Kamal Nath. Katare was seen as a “big killer” after defeating Madhya Pradesh cooperatives minister Arvind Singh Bhadoria of the BJP by over 69,000 votes.

Saying the appointments, a Congress assertion mentioned, “The Congress president has appointed Shri Jitu Patwari because the president of Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee, with instant impact.”

“The get together appreciates the contributions of outgoing PCC president, Shri Kamal Nath,” it added.