Kamal Nath leaving? Congress puts up a brave face, calls him 'Indira Gandhi's third son'

Kamal Nath planning to join the BJP? Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari on Saturday reacted to the rumours, saying "Indira Gandhi's third son" will not quit the Congress party.

Read here: In Delhi, Kamal Nath refuses to deny BJP switch rumours; Nakul Nath drops Congress from X bio

“For the first time when Kamal Nath fought elections, then Indira Gandhi said that Kamal Nath is her third son...in the 45 years of political journey of Kamal Nath, in both our good times and bad times, he has been working with the party for the last 7 years as Madhya Pradesh Congress chief,” he said.

He further said that Nath has been serving the grand old party for over four decades and the party workers also stood with Nath when Jyotiraditya Scindia toppled the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh.

"I still remember when Scindia toppled the Congress government in MP, all the Congress workers stood with Kamal Nath's leadership and ideology...the news that's speculated is baseless...can you imagine Indira Gandhi's third son leaving Congress? Can't think about something like that even in dreams," he added.

Kamal Nath reaches Delhi

Amid the speculations of switching sides, Nath arrived in the national capital today. In his brief interaction with reporters, Nath said, "It is not about denying, you are saying this, you people are getting excited. I am not getting excited, this side or that side, but if there would be any such thing, I would inform you first."

Meanwhile, Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath, MP from Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara, has removed Congress from his X bio, which simply identifies him as an MP.

MP's former chief minister and senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh also refuted the speculations earlier today, and said that he spoke to Nath last night who was in Chhindwara. He said, "I spoke to Kamal Nath at 10.30 pm yesterday, he is in Chhindwara."

Read here: BJP state chief fuels 'Kamal Nath quitting Congress' buzz with open offer

"A person who started his political journey and stood with the Nehru-Gandhi family when Indira Gandhi was sent to jail by the Janata party, do you think such a person will ever leave Congress and the Gandhi family?" Singh added.

Why is Kamal Nath unhappy with the Congress?

Kamal Nath is said to be disgruntled over not getting a Rajya Sabha seat and also Rahul Gandhi being opposed to him since the party lost the assembly polls late last year. Kamal Nath had been camping in his family pocket borough Chhindwara. He had represented the constituency nine times in the Lok Sabha.

In the 2023 Madhya Pradesh elections, the BJP decimated the Congress after winning 163 of the 230 assembly seats. The Congress managed to win just 66 seats. Nath was later replaced as the Madhya Pradesh unit chief.

The speculation of Nath's exit from Congress comes days after Milind Deora and Ashok Chavan quit the the party.

With inputs from PTI, ANI