Kamal Nath in CWC takes sheen of Scindia's proximity to Sonia

Kamal Nath in CWC takes sheen of Scindia's proximity to Sonia
SANJIV SINHA

NEW DELHI, FEB 13: The Congress Working Committee (CWC) reconstituted by party chief Sonia Gandhi may have been packed with loyalists but the entry of senior leader Kamal Nath after a rather long wait has upset the existing power equations within the party's highest policy-making body.

Though Kamal Nath's selection hasn't come as a surprise to party circles, sources say the fact that he now has a foothold in the CWC is bound to trigger off a contest for the number two slot with archrival and senior leader Madhavrao Scindia. Scindia is presently all-powerful in the party and along with CWC colleague Ambika Soni, is among the two leaders who are said to be the closest to Sonia.

Now that Kamal Nath too has gained access to the party's highest forum, party circles expect the Scindia-Nath tussle, which began many years back in Madhya Pradesh (from where both are Lok Sabha MPs and as such also traditional rivals) to hot up in the coming days.

While Scindia holds the post of the party's Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, what has added to Kamal Nath's clout in the party is that not only has he been put in the CWC but has also been handpicked by Sonia to be an AICC general secretary incharge of crucial states, at least two of which -- West Bengal and Assam -- are going to polls shortly.

The other states he is handling are no less important and include Delhi, Orissa and Goa. Kamal Nath's supporters feel that giving him the responsibility of West Bengal and Assam, especially the former where the party is in a crisis of sorts, is an ``indication of Sonia's new-found trust in his abilities''.

Kamal Nath had been lobbying hard for a CWC berth this time round, having been successively denied one on earlier occasions. He contested but lost the CWC elections narrowly in the party polls during Sitaram Kesri's tenure in 1997 and was ignored by Sonia when she reconstituted the Committee soon after the Lok Sabha elections in 1999.

While Scindia and Nath are more or less in the same age bracket, the former is senior in terms of their Lok Sabha tenures, having first entered Parliament way back in 1971. Scindia has also served as a Union Cabinet minister in Rajiv Gandhi's Cabinet while Nath has never gone beyond the status of Minister of State with independent charge. Nath entered the Lok Sabha from Chhindwara for the first time in 1980 but then to counter Scindia's seniority, his loyalists argue that the erstwhile Maharaja of Gwalior fought on a Congress ticket for the first time only in 1980, having won the earlier two elections on a Jan Sangh ticket and as an independent respectively.

But as far as popularity and winnability goes, both have formidable track records; Scindia has been Lok Sabha MP nine times consecutively since 1971 while Nath has represented Chhindwara six times.

Party circles expect the traditional rivalry between them to become all the more sharply-defined now because with the death of Rajesh Pilot and Jitendra Prasada, there are few other leaders in their age-group who enjoy similar stature in the party.

What shape the Scindia-Nath tussle takes will now depend on the other power equations in the CWC. There is Ambika Soni, whose clout with Sonia has grown tremendously, and the redoubtable Arjun Singh, who has not only found his way back into the CWC but has also ensured that his loyalists like M.L. Fotedar and Birender Singh get a seat in the all-important Central Election Committee (CEC).