Politics
Kamal Nath Out: Leadership Shake-Up In Madhya Pradesh And Chhattisgarh Congress Following Election Defeats
Jitu Patwari replaces Kamal Nath as Madhya Pradesh Congress chief after the party's poll defeat in the state (Photo: Jitendra (Jitu) Patwari/X)
Following the disappointing results in the Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh assembly elections for the Congress party, Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), made significant changes on Saturday (16 December).
Kamal Nath was replaced by Jitu Patwari as the head of the Madhya Pradesh Congress, and Charan Das Mahant, a former Speaker, was appointed as the leader of the legislature party in Chhattisgarh, taking over from former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel.
The leadership change within these states is perceived as implementing a system of accountability, given that the Congress was viewed as the likely victor in Madhya Pradesh and anticipated to replicate its success in Chhattisgarh.
In the Madhya Pradesh assembly, the Congress Legislature Party leader is now MLA Umang Singhar, with MLA Hemant Katare serving as the deputy.
An AICC order expressed appreciation for the contributions of the departing PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) president, Kamal Nath, and confirmed that Deepak Baij would maintain his position as the Pradesh Congress Committee chief in Chhattisgarh.
Despite his recent defeat in the polls from the Rau assembly constituency in Indore district of the Malwa-Nimar region, Patwari, who served as a minister in the Kamal Nath government for 15 months from 2018 to 2020, has been given the responsibility of leading the state unit.
Following the 2018 election victory, Mahant was in the running for the top position, which ultimately went to Baghel. Subsequently, Mahant was appointed as the Speaker of the Chhattisgarh assembly.
In the recent election where nine members of the former Bhupesh Baghel cabinet, including PCC President Deepak Baij, were defeated, Mahant was one of only two senior leaders to secure a victory, the other being Baghel himself.
He is an OBC leader from the Bilaspur region and is not associated with any of the accusations that plagued the previous administration.
