Congress Replaces Kamal Nath with Jitu Patwari as Party’s Madhya Pradesh Chief After Poll Loss

The Congress on Saturday replaced senior party leader Kamal Nath as the President of Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee by appointing Jitu Patwari to the post, with immediate effect.

In a press release, the grand old party appreciated the contributions of the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister as the PCC President.

The party also appointed Gandhwani MLA Umang Singhar as the leader of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) and Hemant Katare as his deputy.

The Congress managed to win only 66 seats in the recently held Assembly elections, whereas the Bharatiya Janata Party registered a landslide victory by winning 163 seats in the 230-member assembly.

Who is Jitu Patwari?

The 49-year-old leader was an MLA from the Rau seat and was also chairing the Madhya Pradesh Congress campaign committee. Patwari, who lost the seat in this year’s polls, had won the election for the second time from Rau in 2018.

After his Rau win in 2018, Patwari was made the Minister of Higher Education, Youth and Sports Affair in the then Kamal Nath-led government.

Patwari was also appointed as the working president when Kamal Nath was appointed as the MPCC chief in 2018, India Today report said.

Later in 2020, Patwari was appointed chairperson of the state media cell of the grand old party by Kamal Nath.

Meanwhile, Kamal Nath was hoping to become once again sit on the chief minister’s chair, however the voters refused to give Nath his last hurrah in form of the post.

ALSO READ | End of Road for Cong’s Kamal Nath? At 77, This May Have Been his Last Shot at MP CM’s Chair

Till earlier this year, Kamal Nath was confident of a win, citing the guarantees he was offering to the people. This election was seen as his last shot at the CM’s chair.

Earlier, he had also dismissed the rumours about him being in the race for the Congress President last year, saying that his aim was to only focus on the state polls.

Kamal Nath had been the Chhindwara MP since 1980 and became an MLA in 2019 from the same seat to become Chief Minister. However, his dream to be MP’s CM for a full-term will in all probability remain a dream.

Now, the chair of the MP chief minister has been taken by BJP leader Mohan Yadav, who was sworn-in to the post on December 13.

CHHATTISGARH

In Chhattisgarh, Congress has appointed Charan Das Mahant as the CLP Leader, with immediate effect, while approving the continuation of MP Deepak Baij as the President of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee.

Notably, in the recently held elections, the BJP put down his biggest-ever victory in the state by winning 54 of the 90 seats in the Assembly. Congress, on the other hand, could only manage to win 35 seats, which came as a shocker for many.

Who is Charan Das Mahant?

Hailing from the Other Backward Classes (OBC), Charan Das Mahant, is a well known figure within the Congress party in the state. Mahant won his first Lok Sabha polls in 1998 from the Janjgir seat and became the only Congress MP from Chhattisgarh in 2009.

He served as the Union Minister of State for Agriculture in the Manmohan Singh-led government in 2009 — UPA’s second term in power.

Mahant also served as the Speaker of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly.