Kamal Nath meets Kharge, Rahul; asked to step down as state chief

Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath is likely to step down as the Congress state president in the wake of the party's drubbing in the Assembly elections, sources said on Tuesday.

According to sources, the former CM, who met the Congress high command in the national capital on Tuesday, was directed to appoint a new state president.

Arriving in the national capital on Tuesday, the Congress's state chief met the party's national president Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Rahul Gandhi at the former's residence.

All India Congress Committee general secretary (Org) KC Venugopal was also present at the meeting, sources informed.

Madhya Pradesh polled for 230 assembly seats in a single phase on November 17 and the results, along with those of three other states -- Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana -- were declared on Sunday, December 3.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday, as the final stages of the vote count pointed to a landslide win for the incumbent BJP, the Congress state chief said, "We accept the mandate of Madhya Pradesh voters in this democratic contest. We will fulfil the role of the opposition."

The stalwart Congress leader also congratulated the BJP on their thumping victory, defying the pollsters who predicted a tight contest and a win for the grand old party.

"I congratulate the Bharatiya Janata Party and hope they will fulfil the responsibilities of the people who have given them this mandate," Nath said at the press conference.

The BJP, which had been battling close to 20 years of incumbency, won a resounding mandate bagging 163 seats while the Congress finished a distant second at 66 seats.

Madhya Pradesh has been a BJP stronghold for the last twenty years, barring a 15-month tenure of the Kamal Nath-led government after the Congress came to power in the 2018 polls.

In the last assembly elections, the Congress emerged as the largest single party with 114 seats while the BJP trailed closely with 109 seats.

The Congress eventually came to power, with Kamal Nath taking oath as the chief minister.

However, that was before a political upheaval rocked the state in 2020, after then-Congressman Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with 22 loyalist MLAs, switched over to the saffron camp.

The Congress government fell after being reduced to a minority and the BJP formed the government in the state, with Shivraj Singh Chouhan returning as chief minister.