One Take | Cong’s Calculated Bet On Kamal Nath Vs BJP’s Shivraj Chouhan Conundrum: Tale of 2 CM Probables – News18

There is a stark contrast outside the residence of the two chief minister probables from the BJP and Congress.

Crowds are huge outside the home of Kamal Nath. The occasional zindabads are drowned by the slogans against him. Ticket distribution is a headache which has ceased to go. In contrast, Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s residence is quiet as the sitting chief minister holds meetings with officials. There are no party workers crowding here, but this doesn’t mean that the BJP has not had its share of ticket-distribution problems.

However, it’s clear that BJP wants to battle the anti-incumbency by diffusing the perception that in case of a win, Chouhan will automatically become the chief minister. The party has safely decided to not name anyone as chief minister. The posters carry Chouhan’s photo but also of other leaders from the state who are contesting polls. It’s a message to those who are worried that the 18-year term of ‘Mamaji’ may remind voters of the long reign of BJP.

KAMAL NATH: BATTTLE FOR SURVIVAL

He’s frailer, bent a bit with age and experience but keeps a hectic schedule as he knows if not now, then his chance may never come.

Most of Nath’s time is spent in passing the buck to complainants about tickets. “Go to Digvijaya Singh or Randeep Surjewala,” he says.

As the chief ministerial face, Nath cannot afford to earn anyone’s ill will or anger. Each time he was asked by the Gandhis to shift to Delhi to take charge and firefight, he said no. He knows that giving up Madhya Pradesh would mean an end to his political career. More than that, at the center, he would be vulnerable to attacks by the BJP over the 1984 riots.

However, Nath has decided to make the transition from the relatively easier Delhi politics that he is used to to the murky tough whimsical state politics. His stroke of luck as chief minister did not last long. Nath needs to take revenge and his anger is directed at Jyotiraditya Scindia as well.

But more than himself, it’s the Gandhis who need Nath to succeed. The Gandhis miss a firefighting and close confidante chief minister like, say a Rajashekhar Reddy was. They know that Ashok Gehlot, Captain Amarinder Singh and Siddaramiah were chief ministers with a mind of their own. Nath is also not one to sit back and take orders but he has been too much of a loyalist of the Gandhis in the past to turn truant. Hence, Nath as chief minister would suit the agenda of the Congress top brass.

SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN: TIME TO MOVE ON?

He was called ‘paon paon waale bhaiya’ — someone who walked kilometers by foot. The chief minister refuses to get tired. His focus is clearly on women votes but he denies that he is using them as a vote bank. Indeed, the fact is that among the BJP chief ministers, he was the first to realise the value of women voters and today, he is happy and smug that other political parties and states have understood his fight.

While Chouhan refuses to shed his confidence and hope that the BJP will be back, there is a nagging nervousness. He admits as much when he says whether he remains chief minister or not, he would keep fighting for women.

Chouhan’s strength comes from not just the women he has fought for, but the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that backs him. When the Congress government fell, it was assumed that he would be the chief minister and not Scindia who had ensured that his 22 MLAs would leave with him, leading to the fall of Kamal Nath. Today, as BJP mulls options, Chouhan hopes the women votes will ensure his comeback.