With elections round the corner, the Madhya Pradesh Congress has decided to put up a united front for the first time in 15 years by bringing all senior leaders on one platform in the state on Friday.

The rally at Chhindwara — Commerce Minister Kamal Nath’s constituency — will be addressed by former chief minister Digvijay Singh, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, PCC chief Suresh Pachauri and campaign committee chief Ajay Singh among others. However, HRD Minister Arjun Singh is likely to miss out on the much talked about occasion due to ill health.

If the leaders do manage to come out and share the same platform, Nath would have achieved what the Congress could not do in the last 15 years. Way back in 1993, late Madhavrao Scindia had succeeded in bringing all leaders together in Dabra. Since then the small town in Gwalior district has become a symbol of Congress unity.

The Dabra meet had helped the party make a comeback. The elections held after a brief stint of President’s rule saw the Congress return to power and hold it for ten years before the BJP under Uma Bharati made a grand comeback in 2003.

As the party was busy quelling infighting among its ranks, the BJP grew from strength to strength. There is no third serious contender in the state. Except for brief flashes of victory, the party’s performance in a string of by-polls over the last four-and-a-half-years hasn’t been exceptional.