It’s late Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia’s 75 birthday today. His son Jyotiraditya Scindia has chosen the same day to join the BJP, which many senior leaders in the party claim was a wish his late grandmother Vijaya Raje Scindia nurtured.
Vijaya Raje joined the Jana Sangh in 1967, and was one of the founding members of the BJP. Her daughter Vasundhara Raje entered politics through BJP and served as a three-time chief minister. Another daughter Yashodhara Raje is also in the BJP.
Just before the MP assembly election, then Congress president Rahul Gandhi had assured him that he would be under consideration for chief ministership after the polls. As it turned out, the high command opted for Kamal Nath over Scindia, a move many young leaders in the party privately attributed to Sonia Gandhi’s reluctance to make a young leader CM who might outshine her son and emerge as his challenger.
Rahul Gandhi had offered deputy chief ministership to Scindia after the assembly poll results were out in December 2018. Scindia declined but said he would nominate someone for the deputy’s post. Rahul Gandhi then said that in that case Kamal Nath would also nominate his second deputy.
The CM had the last laugh as Scindia gave up. He was later appointed Congress general secretary in-charge of western Uttar Pradesh — a punishment posting, in bureaucratic terms, as the party has no base there.
After he resigned, following the party’s dismal show in the Lok Sabha elections, the high command made no move to pacify him. Instead, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, general secretary in-charge of eastern UP, took over making party appointments across the state, without even bothering to consult Scindia.
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