Kamal Nath eyeing top post in Madhya Pradesh

New Delhi: Federal minister Kamal Nath is reportedly projecting himself as the chief ministerial candidate for poll-bound Madhya Pradesh much to the chagrin of his party colleagues.

Reports coming from the state suggest that Kamal Nath and his supporters are openly telling voters of Mahakaushal region, which accounts for 45 seats in the 230-member assembly, that their vote to the Congress party would catapult the leader to the chief minister's post.

The Congress party, following a tradition, has refused to name anyone as its chief ministerial candidates in all six states where state legislative assembly elections are underway.

Although in states like Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir, voters unofficially know that in the event of the party's victory Ajit Jogi, Sheila Dikshit, Ashok Gehlot and Gulam Nabi Azad respectively would become the chief ministers.

However, there is no clarity about Madhya Pradesh considering many political heavy weights are eyeing the prized post.

Incidentally, the central leadership of the Congress party is keeping silent on the issue, giving indirect legitimacy to the claim that Kamal Nath may have been told privately about this by party chief Sonia Gandhi.

Kamal Nath who served as the party general secretary before becoming the federal minister for commerce when the Congress party came to power at the centre in 2004, is just one among the handful of claimants for the post.

Federal minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, party national general secretary Digvijay Singh and state unit chief Suresh Pachouri are the other contenders for the post.

"Let him first show the results in his Chindwara Lok Sabha constituency before laying claim to the chief minister's post," said a senior Congress leader belonging to Madhya Pradesh.