Cong names Kamal Nath MP CM; Parleys continue for Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh

Congress on Thursday night named veteran leader Kamal Nath as Madhya Pradesh's next Chief Minister after marathon consultations by the party chief Rahul Gandhi with senior leaders including Sonia Gandhi, even as hectic parleys continued for the other two newly-won states Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

While 72-year-old Nath reached Bhopal to get formally elected as leader of the Congress Legislative Party by the newly-elected MLAs in the night itself at a meeting also attended by another contender Jyotiraditya Scindia, the tussle between the old and the young guard continued to stymie the selection process for the chief ministerial face in Rajasthan.

Sachin Pilot, 41, reached Gandhi's official residence in Lutyens Delhi for a second time late in night. Soon after Pilot left, 67-year-old Ashok Gehlot also reached the Gandhi residence again, as the party leadership continued to discuss the claims by the two leaders for the top post in Rajasthan.

Gandhi also held discussions with party leaders in Chhattisgarh Thursday to decide on the new chief minister for the state, the party sources said, but postponed the decision to Friday for holding wider discussions with the contenders.

Gandhi will meet T S Singh Deo and Bhupesh Patel, who are among the top contenders for Chhattisgarh, on Friday, party leaders said.

Rahul's sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also visited his house while intense parleys were on earlier in the day, but there was no confirmation whether she was a participant.

As hours went by without an announcement, tension and sloganeering had risen among supporters of various contenders, spilling into violence in some areas of Rajasthan. However, it was replaced by slogans being chanted in support of Kamal Nath later in the night after he reached Bhopal.

After the meeting of the MLAs, Nath said he would meet the governor 10.30 am on Friday to take forward the government formation process.

"I assure people of Madhya Pradesh that we will fulfil our promises. A new beginning has been made," he told reporters.

Regarding Rajasthan, Pilot and Gehlot appealed to party workers to maintain peace and discipline, saying they have full faith in the party leadership and would abide by its final decision.

After briefing Gandhi, AICC in-charge of Rajasthan, Avinash Pande, told PTI: "We have given a detailed report on the views of party MLAs to the Congress president, who will take a final call on chief ministers. The decision will be announced at the legislature party meeting in Jaipur."