Jyotiraditya hits out at Cong in parting shot, says country secure in PM Modi’s hands
Shaking off his 18-year-long Congress legacy, Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday joined the BJP saying he has come to the “parivar” (family) as his previous organisation is seized with “inertia and out of sync with reality” and the country’s future is “fully secure in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hands”.
While BJP president JP Nadda described him as part of the ideological “blood family” recalling the association of his grandmother Vijayaraje Scindia with ‘Bharatiya Jana Sangh’ and the “very democratic” BJP, the party announced him as one of the candidates from Madhya Pradesh for Rajya Sabha, denial of which was one of the reasons for his parting company with the Congress.
But then, the entry of Scindia with his loyalist MLAs could create uneasiness to the homegrown BJP leaders and legislators, some of whom had lost Assembly polls contesting against the Congress in December 2018 in Madhya Pradesh. The BJP as also Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have to do the fine balancing act as they accommodate Scindia both in the Government and the party lest it ruffles feathers of party’s old guards. Scindia may be given a Cabinet berth in the reshuffle on card anytime from now and his camp followers in Madhya Pradesh may be fitted in the ‘new BJP Government’, as and when it happens.
The Madhya Pradesh BJP had, understandably, sent a list of around 22 names, including national general secretaries Ram Madhav and Kailash Vijayvargiya, to the party’s Central poll panel to pick two candidates for the March 26 Rajya Sabha elections to three seats in the State, a senior leader said. The names of Satyanarayan Jatiya and Prabhat Jha, both sitting Rajya Sabha members from the State, also figure in the list. Thus, the move to elevate and accommodate an “outsider” may already have led to some disquiet in Madhya Pradesh.
Awarding Scindia, who lost his Lok Sabha seat to the BJP in 2019, from Guna, could not go well with the core workers. Guna has gone back to the BJP after two decades, even though the party’s candidate was an outsider. Incidentally, the BJP had last won the seat in 1999, when Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia — Jyotiraditya’s grandmother — won it.
BJP leaders, however, maintain that it was necessary to induct leaders of influence from the Opposition into the party to achieve a “Congress-mukt” India, a pet theme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
As Congress removed Scindia’s nameplate from Parliament House (as Deputy leader of the party in Lok Sabha) , Scindia quietly “moved on” and joined the saffron party in its headquarters here saying it was no longer possible to serve public by being in the Congress. He said the Congress was no longer the same party as it was earlier and “inertia” has set in and leadership has neither courage nor vision to face the “realty” on the ground.
The BJP president who welcomed him as part of “parivar” recalling his grandmother’s contribution to establishing the BJS and the BJP, said he was free (unlike the Congress) to serve the party as he liked as “ BJP is a very democratic party”. “Entry of Jyotiraditya Scindia in the BJP is like a family member coming”, Nadda added.
On his part, Scindia thanked Nadda, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, saying they have given him the platform to serve the people.
Hailing Modi for his leadership, Scindia said the country’s future is secure in his hands. Prior to sending his resignation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Scindia along with Shah met Modi at latter’s residence for over an hour on Tuesday.
Talking about Madhya Pradesh, the erstwhile Congress leader said the dream which he saw with his former colleagues for the State has been shattered in the last 18 months. Instead of creating employment, there is corruption, and transfers and postings (of officials) is a business, he said. “Rojgaar ki jagah bhrastachaar ho gaya,” said the four-time MP who first got elected from Guna in MP in 2002 after winning a bye-election necessitated by his father’s demise. He was only 31 years old at that time.
Scindia wields political influence mainly in and around Gwalior region including Guna and Shivpuri and his overarching presence in the State could add political muscle to the BJP in Madhya Pradesh which has an overwhelming presence of the RSS network that almost anchors the parivar’s advances in the Hindi Heartland.
Blessed with family legacy, Scindia, 49, may not find it difficult to dye himself well in the saffron colour and as he said “serve Bharatmata”. Besides the ‘Rajmata’ connection, two of Scindia’s aunts are in the BJP, one being Vasundhararaje, former CM of Rajasthan and Yashodhara Raje, a former Minister in MP. His father too was an MP from Jana Sangh in 1971 before moving to the Congress.
The BJP would like the former Congress leader to prove his utility to the party by outflanking Congress in Madhya Pradesh as also come handy in other States, particularly in UP of which he was appointed general secretary by his erstwhile party.
The first task ahead of Scindia would be to dislodge the Kamal Nath Government and win at least two of three Rajya Sabha seats, elections for which are due on March 26. Prior to his entry to the BJP, one seat each was fixed for the BJP and the Congress with third set for a keen contest with the vote of first preference. Now with 19 of Scindia loyalists sending in their resignations, the BJP is game for two RS seats. Of the three seats, two were held by BJP’s Jha and Jatiya and one is with Congress’s Digvijay Singh. The BJP would again pin hopes on Scindia’s coup to get hold on the third RS seat too. But, here, the Speaker of the Assembly, who is from Congress, would hold the key.