Kamal Nath’s Hitler-like rules reason behind Cong loss in MP: Rakesh Mavai

Kamal Nath’s Hitler-like rules reason behind Cong loss in MP: Rakesh Mavai

Former MLA from Morena and a Jyotiraditya Scindia loyalist, Rakesh Mavai, quit the Congress on Friday and joined the BJP dealing a blow to the INDIA bloc just a few months before the Lok Sabha elections.

Mavai, a heavy-weight in the Gwalior-Chambal region, joined the BJP in the presence of Union Civil Aviation Minister Scindia in Delhi, along with Param Singh Rawat, the Janpad Panchayat Adhyaksh of Shivpuri.

Mavai told The Indian Express, “I won against the BJP government in a by-election. I stayed with the Congress, and did not leave with Scindia. Despite winning all elections, I was not given a ticket. I left the Congress since I was not needed.”

Mavai is the first leader who left the Congress in the tenure of its new president Jitu Patwari. “It is too early to talk about Patwari’s impact. But Kamal Nath and his (Adolf) Hitler-like rules was the reason behind the Congress losing the (Madhya Pradesh) elections.”

This is the second time a Congress leader has spoken out against Nath in a span of a week.

On January 18, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) issued a show-cause notice to Congress spokesperson Alok Sharma for making alleged defamatory remarks against the former Chief Minister.

The remarks in question were made by Sharma in an interview to a news channel recently where he said that Nath giving an interview during the MP election campaign to a journalist, who featured in a “blacklist” of journalists who would be boycotted by the INDIA alliance was unfortunate and “the whole Congress had objected to this.” “…Looking at Kamal Nath’s activities for five years raises doubts whether he was having an understanding with the BJP. Is it the case that he never wanted the government (in MP) to be formed? It is the mistake of our senior leaders that they did not identify this person. There should have been a full assessment of why the (MP) government fell (in 2020). After that, in the ticket distribution, this person showed so much arrogance. The arrogance of one person spoiled the entire election atmosphere. It is very unfortunate,” Sharma had said in the interview.

During the Assembly elections, several leaders from the Scindia faction had abandoned the BJP and joined the Congress citing “lack of respect” or “role in the party”. Most of the leaders had left in large caravans to Bhopal to drive home the message of their homecoming.

When asked if he anticipates competition with the BJP leaders from Morena, Mavai said, “The BJP respects its workers and the Congress pushes them back. Ambition is not respected in the Congress.”

Mavai had contested as the MLA from Morena in a by-election in 2020 and had won. He served as the

District President of the Morena District Congress Committee in 2018, he has also served as a Municipal Councillor in Morena Municipal Council from 2015-2020. He served in various positions in the Municipal Council and was also part of the Planning Committee for five years in Morena from 2015. He started his career as a panchayat member in 2010.

Mavai’s induction into the BJP is also seen by party insiders as an attempt to bring as many leaders from the Opposition parties to further bolster their tally and weaken the INDIA bloc in the Lok Sabha elections.

BJP spokesperson Dr Hitesh Bajpai said, “If someone is coming to the BJP and accepts its ideology and agenda, and wants to build our nation, she/he is always welcome to the party.”

Congress spokesperson K K Mishra brushed off Mavai’s switchover by saying, “He was a Scindia supporter and returned to his faction. It was expected.”

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