How Scindia gained from his switch to the BJP and won the Rajya Sabha seat
Voting for electing Rajya Sabha MPs against three vacancies in Madhya Pradesh was held on June 19, Friday. Former union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia was elected MP, on a BJP ticket, besides Sumer Singh Solanki. Former chief minister Digvijaya Singh was elected on a Congress ticket.
Scindia would return to Parliament after a gap of little more than a year. In 2019, he lost the Lok Sabha elections from Guna to the BJP’s KP Yadav, a political newbie. This round of Rajya Sabha elections in the state was the backdrop for the change in government witnessed in Madhya Pradesh in March. The Congress was to win two seats originally as per its numbers in the assembly but ended up winning only one. The BJP was expected to win one, but eventually notched up two seats, which will help it in gaining a majority in the Rajya Sabha.
While in the Congress, Jyotiraditya Scindia was expecting to be made RS nominee from Madhya Pradesh. The seat was not offered to him officially by the Congress although discussions were on. The BJP moved faster, got in touch with Scindia who offered to cross over along with 22 Congress MLAs. The resignation of 22 MLAs led to the fall of the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government and marked the return of Shivraj Singh Chouhan as CM for the fourth time.
The elections were to be held originally in March but got deferred owing to the lockdown announced on March 24. Scindia developed a throat infection and was hospitalised in Delhi. He was discharged on June 15 but could not be present for his election in Bhopal on June 19. In other words, the immediate gain he made from his switch to the BJP was received by him in absentia.
Scindia is likely to be appointed a Union minister in the days to come. He will also play a major role for the BJP in the by-elections slated to be held in 24 assembly segments in MP. Sixteen out of the 24 seats are located in the Gwalior Chambal region – the zone of influence of the Scindia family. Three other seats are located outside the Gwalior Chambal region but will have his loyalists contesting as BJP candidates. His reputation would be at stake in them too.
June 19, the day Scindia finally got elected to the RS, after many twists and turns, happens to be the 50th birthday of his old friend Rahul Gandhi.
(Courtesy of Mail Today)
Also read: Why the stakes are high in Rajya Sabha polls to the three seats in Madhya Pradesh