How Kamal Nath tamed party rebels to secure Jhabua victory

BHOPAL: For faction-riddled state Congress, Jhabua assembly bypoll victory would not have been possible without taming of rebels and intervention by chief minister Kamal Nath. Sources in the party said there were two major hurdles for five-time MP and party candidate Kantilal Bhuria, who lost the Ratlam Lok Sabha elections in May.
Former Congress MLA from the seat Javier Meda, was also a ticket aspirant and JAYS (Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti), a recently floated tribal youth organization, had announced to field a candidate.“Stop looking at Kantilal Bhuria,” chief minister Kamal Nath told Javier Meda during the bypoll campaign.
“Look at me. Your honour will be protected,” he said. Congress leaders told TOI that Meda not only supported Bhuria after the chief minister’s assurance but even campaigned for him.
In the November 2018 assembly election, Javier Meda was refused candidature by the Congress from Jhabua because he lost the 2013 assembly election to BJP’s Shantilal Bilawal. Meda was party MLA in 2008 and rebelled after Congress fielded Kantilal Bhuria’s son Dr Vikrant Bhuria from the seat. He contested as an independent while Congress leadership expelled him for indiscipline.
Meda contested as independent and secured 35,943 votes. BJP’s Guman Singh Damor got 66,598 votes while Vikrant Bhuria received 56,161. Damor’s winning margin was 10,337 votes. Congress brought back Javier Meda into the party fold before the Lok Sabha elections realizing that he was the only reason for Dr Vikrant’s defeat.
On Thursday, former Union Minister Kantilal Bhuria won the bypoll by a margin of 27,804 votes.
Sources in the party said that chief minister Kamal Nath will now reward Javier Meda for his support to Bhuria. He is tipped to be named chief of a state owned public undertaking soon.
The other rebellion scuttled by CM Nath was JAYS and party MLA from Manawar seat Hiralal Alawa. On September 7, JAYS announced it would field a candidate for Jhabua bypoll. Chief minister Kamal Nath summoned Hiralal Alawa who reached with a charter of demands which included employment opportunities for tribal youth, forest rights and the appointment of Tribal Advisory Council.
Alawa said, “The chief minister assured us that the charter of demands will be considered by the government and Tribal Advisory Council was constituted forthwith,” he said. Alawa became a member of the council headed by CM and JAYS declared it would not field a candidate for Jhabua bypoll and decided to support Congress.