Ahead of Home Minister Amit Shah's rally in his hometown Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh unit Congress president and former chief minister Kamal Nath on Wednesday said that the people of the city have stood with him for 44 years.
Shah is scheduled to address a rally in Chhindwara on Saturday. The ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh is all set to kickstart its campaign for the next Assembly polls in the state with that rally.
Kamal Nath said the contest would be "between the people of Chhindwara and the BJP". The senior Congress leader recalled that last time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned for the BJP in his hometown, the Congress had won all eight assembly seats of Chhindwara district.
"For the last 44 years, the people of Chhindwara have supported me. It means I have done something for them. No matter who comes and goes, I have full faith in the people of Chhindwara that they will stand with me," Kamal Nath said.
Meanwhile, Kamal Nath also criticised Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, saying he had started announcing a slew of promises over the fear of losing the elections. "Shivraj Singh Chouhan thinks that he will convince the people of Madhya Pradesh by announcing fake promises while the elections are just a few months away.
He has failed on all fronts, which is why is running away from giving reports of work in Madhya Pradesh," Nath added. Kamal Nath has won nine Lok Sabha elections from Chhindwara.
In 2019, Congress lost 28 out of 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh, including big faces like Jyotiraditya Scindia from Guna and Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal. However, the BJP could not win Chhindwara.
"Chhindwara is no longer the bastion of Kamal Nath. The state unit BJP will ensure that no stone is left unturned and after taking our pledge for victory, we will all work to end the political career of Kamal Nath," Madhya Pradesh BJP president V.D. Sharma had said while addressing a gathering of party workers on Monday.
Also, during a visit to Chhindwara last Saturday, CM Chouhan, while addressing a gathering of party workers said: "Let us take a pledge to end the political career of Kamal Nath. We will dig a hole and bury the Congress in that."