Editor's Pick: Star campaigners and "item" numbers

(The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.)

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has approached the Supreme Commission against an Election Commission decision to remove him as 'Star Campaigner' for the Congress in the Madhya Pradesh byepolls. The Election Commission had acted against Mr. Nath citing repeated violations of the Model Code of Conduct and disregard of an advisory that was issued to him earlier over comments referring to a woman candidate as an "item". Mr. Nath has appealed in the apex court saying that similar comments by BJP candidates had been disregarded, and that it was the prerogative of the Congress party to remove him from its list of Star Campaigners.

The ongoing campaign is a personal battlefield for Mr. Nath and a test of mettle for the Congress party. A sweep of the by-polls could not only bring the party and Mr. Nath back to power, but also validate their earlier decisions regarding Jyotiraditya Scindia. Mr. Scindia was seen as one of the key campaigners who had brought Congress to power in 2018 but the CM post was given to Mr. Nath. The subsequent infighting had ended with Mr. Scindia defecting, along with most of the MLAs from the Gwalior-Chambal region, which is his sphere of influence. Mr. Scindia, now a Rajya Sabha MP for the BJP, is also in a spirited campaign to ensure that he stays relevant to the BJP.

The central role that Mr. Nath is playing for the Congress in Madhya Pradesh and the high stakes for the Congress in this election may be prompting them to take the matter of the "Star Campaigner" status all the way to the Supreme Court. This is also what makes this story important.

Why are there byepolls in MP?

The by-polls in Madhya Pradesh on November 3 is for 28 seats in the 230-seat Assembly including the 25 left vacant by Congress MLAs who defected to the BJP along with Mr. Scindia. The defection of 22 of the MLAs had resulted in the fall of the Kamal Nath-led Congress government which was formed after the 2018 election. The Congress now has 88 MLAs and needs to win all 28 to form the government again, or at least 21 to form a coalition with the remaining non-Congress, non-BJP MLAs. The ruling Shivraj Singh Chauhan-led BJP government has 107 seats and needs to win just 9 to have a majority.

Who is a "Star Campaigner"?

Star Campaigners in an election come under Section 77(1) of the Representation of People Act, 1951. It enables parties to pay for the expenses of celebrity campaigners out of its own pocket, without affecting the spending limits of its candidates in that election. This is allowed as long as the "stars" campaign generally for the party and not for particular candidates.