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KAMAL Nath, Gandhi Family Loyalist & Veteran Parliamentarian, Will Be Madhya Pradesh’s 18th Chief Minister

KAMAL NATH, senior Parliamentarian and former Union Minister, 72, will be Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. Kanpur born Kamal Nath,  an alumnus of the Doon School and St Xavier College affiliated to The University of Calcutta, will be sworn in on December 17. The Congress on Thursday night named him to head the government in the state because of his vast experience as the former Union Minister after hours of parleys in Delhi held by AICC President Rahul Gandhi with senior party leaders including UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. After arriving at Bhopal he was elected by the newly elected MLAs. Nath said that as the new chief minister he would ensure all promises made by the Congress party are fulfilled and that Madhya Pradesh’s future was secure. Asserting that the state unit of the party was united and there were no “camps”, Nath said that he has no problems with Jyotiraditya Scindia and maintains good relations with all leaders in the state. Nath called on Governor Anandiben Patel Friday to take forward the government formation and discussed the details of swearing-in ceremony. Asked about the Congress party’s promising of farm loan waiver, he said, “It is a challenging time and we will all together fulfil the promises made in our ‘Vachan Patra’.”Nath, who has earlier held multiple portfolios in the union cabinet, recalled his association with the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and said it was she who had introduced him to Chhindwara which has since become his home turf electing him to Lok Sabha nine times in a row. He also said that he had the privilege of working with Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and now Rahul Gandhi. Nath also thanked Scindia and said that he had also worked with his father late Madhavrao Scindia. “He has supported me and that matters a lot,” he said.The announcement of Nath’s name as the new chief minister was made by the party observer for the state A K Antony after being elected “unanimously” as the new Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader at meeting of the newly-elected MLAs, soon after the veteran leader reached Bhopal to a rousing welcome by his supporters chanting ‘Jai Jai Kamal Nath’.He was PCC President since  April 26, is credited with having steered the party to a win in the just-concluded assembly polls, in which the party bagged 114 seats. The Congress has secured support of a total of 121 MLAs, including SP (1) and BSP (2) legislators as also of four independents, to cross the majority mark of 116 seats in the 230-member assembly. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which ruled the state for 15 years, got 109 seats in the elections. The saffron party’s Shivraj Singh Chouhan was the state’s longest serving chief minister since taking charge in 2005.(image courtesy to India Today)

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