Political circles in New Delhi stirred with speculation following the arrival of Congress stalwart Kamal Nath and his son Nakul Nath, a member of Parliament, on Saturday. There were reports that they might be considering a switch to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), fueled further by remarks made by Kamal Nath and by BJP leaders’ activity on social media.

Speaking to reporters, Kamal Nath did not confirm or deny questions about him joining the BJP. “It is not about denying, you people are getting excited. If something like this happens, I will inform you all (media) first,” the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said.

The buzz gained further momentum after Narendra Saluja, a state spokesperson of the BJP, shared a photograph of the Kamal Nath and his son on social media with the caption “Jai Shree Ram”.

In another post, Saluja shared a photograph of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and national media panellist Alok Sharma, alleging that the Wayanad MP was in company of people who had made “derogatory remarks” against Nath. “Rahul Gandhi has expressed his choice, now it is Kamal Nath’s turn,” he wrote.

Last month, Alok Sharma, during an interaction with a media channel, had blamed Kamal Nath for the loss of the Congress in Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, saying that he wonders whether Kamal Nath was aligning with the BJP during elections. He was later issued a notice by the party.

A senior BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh, meanwhile, said it is possible that the father-son duo could join the BJP on Sunday.

“Talks with senior leaders including union home minister, Amit Shah, and national president, JP Nadda, are going on. If all goes well, he will join the BJP on Sunday in the presence of senior-most BJP leaders,” the leader said.

From the Congress side, Sajjan Singh Verma, a senior party leader and Nath’s close associate, said he last spoke to Kamal Nath on Friday and suggested that all was not well between him and the Congress.

“He felt extremely hurt over some issue in Congress, which I cannot speak about. A person does politics for honour and self-respect. He has gone to Delhi to meet senior leaders,” he told reporters on Saturday, refusing to spell out more details about his conversation with Nath. “I have been associated with Nath for the past 40 years. He is my leader. Wherever he will go, I will go with him.”

Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh, however, played down the buzz. “I spoke to him last night and he did not indicate anything . He started his political career with the Congress and had been with the Gandhi family all along, even during Janata Party’s rule. Ideologically, he is not with the BJP,” he said.

Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari had also reacted to the rumours, saying “Indira Gandhi’s third son” will not quit the Congress party.

Kamal Nath’s son drops Congress from social media bio

Amid the buzz of Kamal Nath joining hands with the BJP, his MP son Nakul Nath dropped Congress from his social media bio.

Nakul Kamal Nath bio on X (formerly Twitter) now identifies him only as a Member of Parliament, Chhindwara (MP).

Besides Nakul, Sajjan Singh Verma also removed Congress from his social media bio.

“I have changed my social media identity following my leader Kamal Nath,” Verma told reporters in Indore.