BHOPAL: Known for his 'drive', on the cricket pitch and turning turf of politics, Jyotiraditya Scindia has shown he is not one to be ignored.
Labelled kingmaker in Madhya Pradesh politics after his rebellion in Congress toppled the Kamal Nath government and brought BJP back to power, Scindia's clout has since grown in the saffron party.
He has had his say in BJP - from a Rajya Sabha seat for himself to bypoll tickets and 14 ministerial berths for his loyalists in the state. His elevation to the Union cabinet as civil aviation minister (a portfolio his father Madhavrao Scindia too held), further reinforces this. After being sworn in, he tweeted: "I thank PM Narendra Modi and the BJP leadership for inducting me in the Union cabinet and bestowing their trust upon me."
Scindia has grown in strength in BJP camp
I assure you that whatever responsibility has been given to me, I will carry out to the best of my abilities and with dedication, under the leadership of PM Modi and party principles,” Jyotiraditya Scindia tweeted.
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan congratulated Scindia, tweeting: “With the expansion of the Union cabinet under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, the path of progress of the country and various states will be smoother and faster. Hearty congratulations to Jyotiraditya Scindia ji on assuming the post of Union cabinet minister.” Scindia’s supporters celebrated at the BJP office.
A scion of the Gwalior royal family, he is a third generation BJP leader, albeit a late convert to the saffron fold. His grandmother, Rajmata Vijayraje Scindia, was one of the founding members of BJP, his aunts are BJP stalwarts, but his father Madhavrao Scindia charted a different course and rose to the top rungs of Congress. Jyotiraditya inherited his political acumen from both of them and love of cricket from his father.
His entry in politics was in tragic circumstances. After Madhavrao Scindia’s demise in a plane crash in 2001, young Scindia stepped into his shoes and represented Guna-Shivpuri Lok Sabha seat from 2002 to 2019.
A powerful orator, who is as comfortable in a corporate boardroom as the dusty fields of Gwalior-Chambal, Scindia was key in propelling Congress to power in the 2018 assembly election. He campaigned furiously across the state, and was the face of the Congress challenge to the entrenched 15-year-old BJP government.
In the tide of success, talk floated that he could be CM. But the top job went to Kamal Nath, apparently for his experience. With Nath and Digvijaya on one side, Scindia felt sidelined. He expected the Gandhis to intervene. That didn’t happen.
After 15 months of cold war and the occasional outburst, it was Scindia’s silence that spoke. Suddenly, in early March 2020, his cellphone went silent. So did those of 22 of his loyalists, including eight ministers.
Congress was in turmoil. The government teetered. And then toppled. Scindia had walked into the welcoming arms of BJP.
Since changing sides and ideology, Scindia has gone from strength to strength, proving those who wondered if he would ‘survive’ in the saffron camp wrong. He ensured his loyalists were placed well, no matter how much discontent it caused among some BJP long-timers, and is now a member of the Narendra Modi cabinet. There are now two Union ministers from Gwalior-Chambal region. Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar is an MP from Morena while Scindia wields immense clout in the region.
This is not his first stint at the Centre. Scindia has been minister of state for communications and information technology and commerce and industries in earlier Congress governments. Since joining BJP, the royal scion has transformed into ‘Bhai Saab’ across Madhya Pradesh but for the voters of Gwalior-Chambal region, he is still ‘Maharaja’.
