Ahead Of MP Assembly Elections, Bageshwar Dham Sarkar Meets Kamal Nath, Says 'I Would Be Happy If...'

Bageshwar Dham's head priest Dhirendra Krishna Shastri is on a visit to Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara on an invitation extended by senior Congress leader Kamal Nath.

Madhya Pradesh Congress President Kamal Nath with his son and party MP Nakul Kamal Nath and Bageshwar Dham Chief Dhirendra Krishna Shastri during a programme, in Chhindwara on Saturday (ANI Photo)

New Delhi: Ahead of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, Bageshwar Dham's head priest Dhirendra Krishna Shastri met senior Congress leader Kamal Nath on Monday and said that he is 'not a political figure'. Speaking to reporters after meeting the former MP chief minister, the 27-year-old spiritual leader said he would be happy if he is 'kept away' from politics.

"I am a follower of Sanatan Dharma and not a political figure. I would be happy if you keep me away from politics," Shastri said after his meeting with Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath. 

Earlier on Saturday, Nath had welcomed Shastri in his pocket borough Chhindwara by performing his 'aarti' along with his MP son Nakul Nath, a gesture viewed as soft Hindutva ahead of key Assembly elections. Shastri, an advocate of Hindutva, is on a visit to Chhindwara on an invitation extended by the veteran leader.

Before starting his sermon on Saturday evening, Shastri said Kamal Nath had visited him in Bageshwar Dham, his home base at Chhattarpur, in February and had invited him to Simariya village to take darshan of Lord Hanuman.

छिंदवाड़ा में बागेश्वर धाम पीठाधीश्वर श्री धीरेंद्र शास्त्री जी का स्वागत है। pic.twitter.com/CP2lrm92do — Kamal Nath (@OfficeOfKNath) August 5, 2023

भव्य दिव्य श्री हनुमंत कथा का शुभारंभ पूज्य सरकार के मुख़ारविन्द से…प्रथम दिवस की दिव्य झलकियाँ…#bageshwardhamsarkar #bageshwardham #shrihanumantkatha #madhyapradesh #chhindwara pic.twitter.com/boHlpQ5cji

— Bageshwar Dham Sarkar (Official) (@bageshwardham) August 6, 2023

In a bid to turn the tables on the ruling Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the opposition Congress is trying to remodel its image by reaching out to Hindu voters ahead of Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, due later this year.

Earlier in the 2018 Assembly polls, the Congress won 114 of 230 seats while the BJP finished second with 109 seats. The Congress went on to form a coalition government with the support of Independents, BSP, and SP under Kamal Nath. However, that government collapsed after nearly 18 months when a string of MLAs of Congress joined the BJP, which paved the way for the return of BJP's Shivraj Singh Chouhan as chief minister for another term.