File photo of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday (February 1, 2025) praised Union Budget 2025 saying that it has special provisions for the poor, women, youth and farmers as well as for start-ups, innovation and artificial intelligence (AI).

Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a statement, Mr. Yadav said: “This welfare, all-encompassing and inclusive Budget is full of the spirit of ‘antyodaya’ and a new vision of innovation, incorporating various sectors like start-ups, innovation and artificial intelligence along with the overall development of the poor, youth, farmers and women power of the country.”

Also Read | Viksit Bharat and the Budget’s play with numbers 

Madhya Pradesh did not receive any specific allocations in the Budget presented by Ms. Sitharaman. However, various schemes and announcements are expected to benefit sections of the State’s public.

The announcement of a new scheme to provide term loans up to ₹2 crore to five lakh woman, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe entrepreneurs during the next five years may benefit the State’s significant population of tribal and SC communities.

Welcoming the decision to exempt those with income up to ₹12 lakh from income tax, Mr. Yadav said the move will “prove to be decisive in empowering the middle class”.

Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Jitu Patwari, however, slammed the Budget and said that it does not have any “concrete plan” for the farmers and unemployed youth.

“The farmers of the country are already in a bad condition, but still no concrete plan has been made for the farmers in this Budget. Unemployment is increasing continuously, the youth are wandering in search of employment, but the government has only juggled the numbers instead of giving them opportunities,” Mr. Patwari said, charging that the Budget is only “beneficial for the capitalists”.

“This Budget is going to benefit the industrialists, while the poor and the middle class have not been given any relief in it. Inflation is at its peak, essential commodities are becoming out of the reach of the common man, but the government has not taken any step in this direction,” he added.

Mr. Patwari also alleged that the Budget “clearly shows” that the Union government under Mr. Modi is only working for a “select few industrialists”.

Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Kamal Nath took on the BJP-led Union government for not making any special provisions for M.P., saying that the State is “continuously reeling under debt”.

“The economy of Madhya Pradesh is already weak and the State is continuously sinking in the quagmire of debt. The Central government has not given any help to the State to fulfil the promises like giving increased MSP of wheat and paddy to the farmers of Madhya Pradesh, doubling the income of farmers, giving ₹3,000 per month to Ladli Behnas,” Mr. Nath wrote on social media platform X.

The BJP, in its manifesto for the 2023 Assembly Election, had promised to increase the current amount of ₹1,250 given to eligible women under the Ladli Behna Scheme to ₹3,000 gradually. However, the scheme has seen no increase after the elections in November 2023.

Bhopal:

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav remained non-ciommittal about reports of Congress veteran Kamal Nath and his son Nakul Nath joining the party. Asked about the natter in an exclusive interview, he told NDTV, “I have considered only  kamal (Loyus, the BJP symbol) but not Kamal Nath. We have many kamals in our party and by God’s grace we manage to bloom in the mud”.

Asked what would the party do if they wished to join, he sidestepped, saying he was only concerned with the present.

There was a massive buzz earlier this year that Kamal Nath and his son were joining the BJP. Both denied and Nakul Nath was later named the Congress candidate from Chhindwara. He will face-off against the BJP’s Vivek Sahu.

Mr Nath, a former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, was removed from the top post of the party after the Congress failed to win the assembly elections amid reports of considerable anti-incumbency against the BJP.

Ahead of the election a number of aides of Mr Nath, including former minister and four-time Congress MLA from Chhindwara Dipak Saxena, Chhindwara Mayor Vikram Ahake, Amarwara MLA Kamlesh Pratap Shah, have joined the BJP.  

Mr Yadav, who took charge of the state after the BJP’s huge victory in last year’s assembly election, said the Congress  robs its people of morale.

Discussing the trend of Congress leaders and workers crossing over to the BJP ahead of the general elections, he said the Congress “has broken the morale of many people. The BJP stands by what it says”.

As examples he cited the scrapping of the Article 370 of the constitution that gave Jammu and Kashmir its special status, the scrapping of Triple Talaq and the building of the Ram temple in Ayodhya – all of which were long-term promises of the BJP.

“People come to the BJP because they feel inspired by our work,” he said. The Congress is a dynastic party, its leadership is “useless” but now the country is “looking at them differently”, he added.

Bhopal:

Former Madhya Pradesh minister and four-time Congress MLA from Chhindwara Dipak Saxena and his supporters joined the BJP on Friday night.

MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav welcomed Mr Saxena, a close aide of senior Congress leader Kamal Nath, into the ruling party.

आज @BJP4MP के प्रदेश कार्यालय में कांग्रेस पार्टी के वरिष्ठ नेता श्री दीपक सक्सेना जी का समर्थकों के साथ भाजपा परिवार में स्वागत किया।

इस अवसर पर मध्यप्रदेश लोकसभा चुनाव प्रभारी @bjpdrmahendra जी, विधायक श्री @BDSabnani जी एवं प्रदेश कार्यालय मंत्री @DrRaghvendrashr जी उपस्थित… pic.twitter.com/0lPyx4SWVq

— Dr Mohan Yadav (Modi Ka Parivar) (@DrMohanYadav51) April 5, 2024

Mr Saxena, who quit the Congress on March 22, said he was joining the BJP as he was influenced by the works of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, CM Yadav and state BJP chief VD Sharma. Earlier, his son Ajay Saxena had joined the BJP.

“The Congress has become aimless under Kamal Nath’s son Nakul Nath, sitting MP from Chhindwara. My father was being marginalized and the workers too were being ignored in Chhindwara for the last six years. That is why my father took the decision to part ways with the Congress,” Ajay Saxena said.

Dipak Saxena had quit his Assembly seat when Kamal Nath became CM in 2018 so that latter could become an MLA.

On March 29, Kamal Nath loyalist and Amarwara MLA Kamlesh Pratap Shah crossed over to the BJP. Mr Shah has won the Amarwara seat thrice in a row.

In the November 2023 MP assembly polls, the Congress had won all the seven assembly seats of Chhindwara district. The BJP is making all efforts to ensure it wrests Chhindwara, the only seat the Congress had won in MP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Nakul Nath, who has renominated by the Congress, will take on BJP’s Vivek Sahu. Polls are scheduled on April 19.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The sons of Congress veterans Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath may make it to the party’s second list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, according to sources. The Congress’s central election committee, tasked with finalising candidates, met yesterday and discussions were held on 62 constituencies across six states and Union Territories. These include Assam, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Daman and Diu.

Sources said the party’s choice for 50 of these seats has been finalised. Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav, a member of the All India Congress Committee, may be fielded from Jalore, sources have said. Vaibhav Gehlot had contested the 2019 general election from Jodhpur, but lost to BJP heavyweight Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

Kamal Nath’s son Nakul may be repeated from the Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh, which he won in the 2019 polls, sources said. This comes after a buzz last month that Mr Nath may quit the Congress and join the BJP. The Congress veteran had then dismissed any such possibility and said it was just a rumour.

The prominent Congress leaders whose names were discussed are Mr Nath, Mr Gehlot, Sachin Pilot, Harish Rawat and Digvijaya Singh. Sources have also said many senior leaders from these states, which are currently ruled by the BJP, do not want to contest the polls.

The Congress on Friday released its first list of candidates for the general election. While Rahul Gandhi has been chosen for Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi, which he lost to Union Minister Smriti Irani last time, Shashi Tharoor has been repeated in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, which he has been winning since 2009.

Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel will be contesting from Rajnandgaon and top Congress leader KC Venugopal from Kerala’s Alapuzzha.

Bhopal:

Congress veteran Kamal Nath on Monday ruled out the possibility of contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha poll from Jabalpur and said he will not leave Chhindwara, his political stronghold in Madhya Pradesh.

The Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat is currently represented by his son Nakul Nath.

Kamal Nath has represented Chhindwara Lok Sabha constituency nine times. He is currently an MLA from Chhindwara assembly seat.

Asked if he will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election from Jabalpur, a prominent parliamentary segment in the Mahakoshal region of Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath said, “There is no plan. I will not leave Chhindwara in any case.” He was talking to reporters in Chhindwara.

The former CM had on earlier occasions said his son will contest from Chhindwara.

Asked about Congress leaders switching sides in Madhya Pradesh, he said, “Suresh Pachouri (former Union minister) joined the BJP. It was his wish.” Veteran leader Pachouri had joined the ruling BJP on Saturday.

On Monday, two other former Congress MLAs Arunoday Choubey and Shivdayal Bagri also joined the BJP.

Kamal Nath said Choubey had already resigned from the Congress.

On speculation that Congress leader Deepak Joshi might also join the BJP, Kamal Nath said, “Wo toh wahin ke the (he belonged to it).” Deepak Joshi, son of former BJP chief minister Kailash Joshi, joined the Congress before the 2023 assembly elections and unsuccessfully contested on its ticket from the Khategaon seat in Dewas district. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chhindwara:

A day after dismissing the buzz about his BJP switch, Congress veteran Kamal Nath on Wednesday told the party workers that he would not “impose” himself on them and would “leave” if they want him to.

Addressing a meeting of the party workers at Harrai on his home turf Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh, the 77-year-old leader said he had been receiving their love and trust for many years.

“If you want to bid farewell to Kamal Nath, it’s your choice. I am ready to leave. I don’t want to impose myself. This is a matter of your choice,” the former MP chief minister told the gathering.

छिन्दवाड़ा ज़िले की अमरवाड़ा विधानसभा के ब्लाक हर्रई में ब्लाक कांग्रेस कार्यकर्ता सम्मेलन मे सम्मिलित हुआ। pic.twitter.com/xUycKJXioo

— Kamal Nath (@OfficeOfKNath) February 28, 2024

Mr Nath’s son Nakul Nath is a Lok Sabha member from the Chhindwara Lok Sabha constituency.

The senior Nath had already announced that Nakul will contest again from this seat.

The veteran politician, who represents the Chhindwara assembly seat, said the BJP projects itself aggressively but Congress workers should not panic.

“We have to vote for securing the future and I have trust in all of you,” he said.

Mr Nath said the Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya belongs to all, suggesting that the BJP should not take credit for its construction.

“Does the BJP own the Ram temple? It belongs to all, including me. The temple is constructed with public money. The Supreme Court gave a verdict and since they (BJP) are in power, they constructed the temple,” he said.

Mr Nath also said he worshipped Lord Ram and constructed a big temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman on the land owned by him in Chhindwara.

“We are religious people and keep our culture intact,” he said.

Amid speculations that he might join the BJP, the veteran politician on Tuesday dismissed them as a “media creation”.

“You (media) are making such speculations and nobody else is saying so. Have you ever heard from me? You run the news and ask me. You should refute this news,” Mr Nath told reporters on Tuesday. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Narsinghpur, Madhya Pradesh:

Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Kamal Nath has taken a pot-shot at Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan saying that people of the state have decided to give him a warm farewell.

Kamal Nath made the remark while addressing an election rally in Kareli in Madhya Pradesh’s Narsinghpur district on Wednesday.

“Wherever I go, I see that people have decided to give Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan a warm farewell. Shivraj Singh’s 22,000 announcements and his announcement machine was running at double speed in the last five months. The battery of the announcement machine is going to run out soon. If he did not lie every day, his food would not get digested,” Kamal Nath said.

He further said the picture of the state was in front of the people.

“Today, the picture of the entire state is in front of you (Public), how the state has been ruined. Ruined Agriculture system, ruined education facility, ruined health facility, ruined industry facility, ruined economy facility, ruined law and order situation, ruined Panchayat system and ruined rations facility. How much can I say? This ruined state is in front of you today,” the former Chief Minister said.

Kamal Nath also said that the biggest challenge he saw was the future of the youth of the state as there were one crore unemployed youth in the state.

“I look towards the youth of the state; the biggest challenge I face today is the future of these youth. Today’s youth does not want any contract or commission; he wants an employment opportunity. These youths will build the future of the state in future. If the future of these youth remains in darkness, then how will the state be built? This is the biggest challenge. One crore youth are unemployed in Madhya Pradesh,” Kamal Nath added.

Madhya Pradesh is one of the five states set to hold elections this year. The state is scheduled to undergo polls in one phase on November 17 and the counting of votes will take place on December 3. Voters will choose legislators from 230 Assembly constituencies.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bhopal:

Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh on Monday asserted his party colleague Kamal Nath wanted to have an alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) for the next month’s Madhya Pradesh assembly polls “with full honesty”, but maintained he does not know how the talks for a tie-up between the two INDIA bloc members got derailed.

Digvijaya Singh praised SP president Akhilesh Yadav for his leadership qualities, but disagreed with Mr Nath, the Madhya Pradesh Congress head, over his choice of words while dismissing his (Yadav’s) criticism for not leaving any seat in MP for the Uttar Pradesh-based party for the November 17 polls.

The former CM said he had suggested Mr Nath to leave four assembly seats for the SP, which wanted to field nominees in half a dozen segments.

Talking to reporters at his residence in Bhopal, he sought to downplay the war of wards between the Congress and the SP that erupted after the national outfit did not allocate any assembly seat to the Yadav-led party despite the two being constituents of the INDIA alliance.

“It is okay… friendly fights do take place between alliance partners, but I know the SP and Akhilesh will never go with the BJP,” said the Rajya Sabha member.

After the SP president slammed the Congress leadership last week for not having an alliance in Madhya Pradesh, Mr Nath, while replying to questions from media persons on the tie-up issue, had reportedly said, “Chhodiye Akhilesh Vakhilesh” (just leave Akhilesh).

Digvijaya Singh disapproved of Kamal Nath’s dismissal of Mr Yadav’s criticism.

“I don’t know how he (Nath) said so. One should avoid such reactions about a leader of the (INDIA) alliance,” he said.

The Rajya Sabha member maintained there a discussion within the Congress over having a tie-up with the SP for the polls to the 230-member assembly.

The SP has released its own lists of candidates for more than two dozen seats.

Digvijaya Singh said “Nath had sent Congress leader Ashok Singh to me for a discussion with SP leaders led by Deep Narayan Yadav. We had a discussion in this room (of his residence in Bhopal). They (SP) had won one seat Bijawar (in Bundelkhand region in 2018 polls) and were second in two others. The SP wanted six seats, but I suggested Nath to leave four seats for the SP.

“Later, the matter went to the Congress Working Committee and the party’s central leadership, but they left the issue of (tie-up with SP) to the state leadership.” Digvijaya Singh said the INDIA grouping will contest the next Lok Sabha polls unitedly, but maintained issues related to state elections are different.

“I don’t know where this talk (of alliance in MP) got derailed. But as far as Nath is concerned, I can say he wanted to have an alliance with the SP with full honesty (Kamal Nath ji poori imandar is samjhouta karna chahta the),” he said.

The Congress veteran recalled his strong bonding with SP patriarch and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister the late Mulayam Singh Yadav.

When pointed out that posters of Akhilesh Yadav as future Prime Minister were displayed in Lucknow, Mr Singh feigned ignorance about the matter.

Answering a question over the Congress fielding sitting MLA from Pichhore KP Singh from Shivpuri, part of the home turf of Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Rajya Sabha MP said his party colleague was a popular leader and also his relative.

Asked whether this was done to prevent Scindia from contesting from Shivpuri on a BJP ticket, Digvijaya Singh said, “Definitely. He (Scindia) ran away as he was scared (to face KP Singh).” Sitting BJP MLA from Shivpuri and state minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia, an aunt of Jyotiraditya Scindia, has opted out of contesting elections due to her ill health.

Earlier, Digvijaya Singh had publicly disapproved of Mr Nath’s “tear clothes” remarks made in context of distribution of poll tickets, during an event organised to release the Congress manifesto last week.

A video of Mr Nath, where he is asking party men to “tear clothes” of his colleague Singh over denial of ticket to a leader from Shivpuri, fuelled talks of a rift in the party over selection of nominees.

In the viral video, Mr Nath is heard telling a group of people, said to be supporters of party leader Virendra Raghuvanshi, that he had left the issue of (selection of Raghuvanshi’s seat) to Digvijaya Singh and his MLA-son Jaivardhan Singh.

The state Congress president is then heard telling the group to “tear clothes” of Digvijaya Singh (over the ticket denial issue).

Mr Raghuvanshi, a former BJP legislator, joined the Congress earlier this month. He had sought a Congress ticket from the Shivpuri assembly seat, but the party fielded KP Singh, a six-time MLA from Pichhore, from there.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bhopal:

The togetherness of the INDIA bloc has acquired a question mark against it, with the Congress and Samajwadi Party fielding candidates against each other on five seats in Madhya Pradesh. State Congress chief Kamal Nath said while the focus of the Opposition alliance is on the Lok Sabha elections, it would have been good if the Madhya Pradesh Assembly election could have been a contested as a bloc.

The Congress released the first list of 144 candidates on the first day of Navratri at the “auspicious hour” of 9.09 am. But it appeared that the Samajwadi Party present found it inauspicious, because it waited another 8 hours to release the names of its candidates.

Both Congress and the Samajwadi Party have fielded candidates on five seats — Bhander (Scheduled Caste seat), Rajnagar, Bijawar, Chitrangi (Scheduled Caste) ST and Katangi.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said, “The Congress should decide whether they want an alliance at the state level or national level. If they don’t want an alliance at the state level, then in future there will be no alliance on state level”.

Kamal Nath said talks are still on with the SP and Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party at the Centre. “We want the SP to help us defeat the BJP. I thank Akhilesh Yadav, as he aims to defeat the BJP. He told this to me personally”.

The “local situation” in Madhya Pradesh, he added, is proving a challenge.

“There are practical glitches due to local situations. Our candidates aren’t ready to fight on the SP poll symbol, even if the SP says it is ready to field our candidates on its symbol. In such a situation, what shall we do? These are practical aspects on the ground,” he said.

In 2018, the SP had won one seat (Bijawar in Bundelkhand region) and finished second on five other seats, securing 1.30 per cent votes in alliance with tribal centric Gondwana Gantantra Party.

The party’s vote share in alliance with the GGP was even less than the Independents, who got 5.82 per cent votes.

SP’s only MLA Rajesh Shukla defeated the BJP candidate by over 36,000 votes. The Congress was a distant third on that seat. Mr Shukla, however, joined the BJP before the 2022 Presidential polls.

The five SP candidates, who finished second in 2018 polls, included Dr Shishupal Yadav (Prithvipur), ex-MLA Meera Deepak Yadav (Niwari), ex-MLA Kankar Munjare (Paraswada) his wife Anubha Munjare (Balaghat) and Kapidwaj Singh (Gurh).

This time, the entry of AAP in Madhya Pradesh will also change some equations.

AAP has some grassroot support – the party scored big in the civic elections and has a mayor, 52 councilors, 118 Sarpanches, 10 District Panchayats and 25 district members. Having received 6 per cent votes in the civic elections, it can make a dent in the votes of Congress-BJP on at least 51 seats.

While the main contest will be between the BJP and the Congress, this time, the Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will contest on 230 seats, due to which competition will be tough on at least 100 seats.

The GGP has its base in tribal regions like Mahakaushal and Baghelkhand, whereas the BSP’s voter base is good in Gwalior-Chambal, Bundelkhand and Vindhya.

The BSP is contesting on 178 seats and GGP on 52 seats. In 2018, the BSP got more than 30,000 votes on 18 seats, while the GGP got more than 30,000 votes on six seats.

Last time, the BSP got about 5 per cent votes. The results were affected due to BSP in 28 seats. The GGP had got around 2 per cent votes, which affected the results on 9 seats.

Last time, the BSP had won on two seats and was second on 6 seats.
GGP was second on two seats.

There are 21 per cent tribal and 15 per cent Dalit voters in the state.
This alliance on 82 reserved seats can tweak the equation for the BJP and the Congress.

In the last elections, BJP got 41.02 per cent votes and the Congress 40.89 per cent votes.

Gwalior:

Latching on to Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath’s “tear clothes” jibe at his party colleague Digvijaya Singh, Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Wednesday the voters of the poll-bound state will not allow such leaders to form government.

Mr Scindia, who quit the Congress and joined the BJP in March 2020, said the opposition party’s manifesto for the November 17 assembly polls has a long list of promises but none of them are going to be fulfilled.

A viral video of Mr Nath where he is asking Congress workers to “tear clothes” of his colleague Digvijaya Singh over denial of ticket to a leader from Shivpuri fuelled talks of a rift in the party over selection of nominees. However, both the former CMs sought to make light of the episode and put up a united face ahead of the polls and attended the Congress’s manifesto release function on Tuesday.

Asked about Mr Nath’s comment and the controversy generated by the viral video, Mr Scindia said the Congress wants to tear down everything.

The BJP Rajya Sabha MP said his own thinking is to work for people’s development and strengthen his party’s organization.

“If Congress leaders are talking like this, what will happen to the people of Madhya Pradesh if they get power? But I believe the people will not allow this to happen,” Mr Scindia said.

He took a dig at the Congress manifesto, saying its easy to prepare the pre-poll document but the party will not be able to fulfil the promises made in it.

In its 106-page manifesto, the Congress has listed 59 promises and 101 “main guarantees”. Key promises include conducting a caste survey, 27 per cent reservation to the OBCs, a farm loan waiver, Rs 25 lakh medical insurance for all residents and an IPL team for MP if voted to power.

The Congress “ruined” the state in its 15-month rule (December 2018 to March 2020) and the people will not forgive the opposition party and its two senior leaders (Digvijaya Singh and Nath), he said.

On contesting elections from his home turf Gwalior, the Union minister said he is an ordinary BJP worker and follows the party’s directives.

In the viral video that surfaced on Tuesday, Nath is heard telling a group of people, said to be supporters of party leader Virendra Raghuvanshi, that he had left the issue of (selection of Raghuvanshi’s seat) to Digvijaya Singh and his MLA-son Jaivardhan Singh which might have caused some confusion.

The state Congress president is then heard telling the group to “tear clothes” of Digvijaya Singh (over the ticket denial issue).

Raghuvanshi, a former BJP legislator, joined the Congress earlier this month. He had sought a Congress ticket from the Shivpuri assembly seat, but the party fielded KP Singh, a six-time MLA from Pichhore, from there.

On Tuesday, both Nath and Digvijaya Singh were seen together at the release of the Congress manifesto in the state capital and they talked about the video’s content in a lighter vein.

As the BJP latched on to the video to target the Congress, Nath clarified that the relations between Digvijaya Singh and him are not merely political.

“It is of love. I have given the power of attorney long back to him (Digvijaya), which was for listening abuses for Kamal Nath. This power of attorney is still valid,” Nath had said jokingly.

Polling for the 230 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh, where the Congress and the BJP are engaged in a direct fight, will be held in a single phase and votes will be counted on December 3. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)