Kamal Nath to continue as MP Congress chief, for now

The stalemate in Madhya Pradesh Congress over the appointment of a new party chief continued on Thursday. With no solution in sight, it was decided that Chief Minister Kamal Nath will continue to lead the party, sources said.

Madhya Pradesh Public Relations Minister P.C. Sharma said Kamal Nath would be at the helm of party's affairs in the state till the next by-poll in Jhabua, urban body elections, besides polls in Maharashtra and other states, adding the party has decided on it.

The Congress regained power in the central Indian state after over a decade. However, things gradually ran into rough winds as the issue of naming a new Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) turned serious within the party. The crisis has taken the shape of Jyotiraditya Scindia faction versus the rest.

The Scindia camp wants their leader to be handed the reins, but Kamal Nath wants his loyalist, Home Minister Bala Bachchan, a tribal leader, as the state party chief.

Nath had resigned from the state party chief's post after the Congress debacle in the Lok Sabha elections early this year, but he has been asked to continue till a replacement is found.

Sources also said a new PCC chief would be named after appointment of the party chief of Delhi unit.

Besides, the Congress-led government would also prefer handling the bickering over PCC chief's appointment carefully as the Congress party does not have full majority in the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly.

The Kamal Nath government is backed by 7 non-Congress legislators -- 2 from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), 1 of Samajwadi Party and 4 Independent MLAs.

In such a scenario, the Congress high command, according to sources, would not like to take any step that may add to the already increasing dissatisfaction among the non-Congress legislators with the government.IANS