At the resounding reception for Jyotiraditya Scindia in Bhopal after he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) , former foes turned friends. Congressmen rallied behind him, and BJP workers from the Gwalior-Chambal region, his stronghold, flocked together in thousands to catch a glimpse of the “Maharaja” snuggling up to Shivraj Singh Chouhan for the first time.
“Mr. Chouhan is not just someone who dedicated everything to the State as its Chief Minister, but as its worker,” Mr. Scindia declared.
Mr. Scindia, who left the Congress Party after 18 years, said the day was emotional for him for two reasons: “The BJP opened doors for me, and then the organisation where I worked hard [the Congress] — I am leaving that to dedicate myself to you.”
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“Today, I am bringing along my hard work,” he said. “My life’s only mission will be to make a place in every worker’s heart.”
Mr. Scindia said he was proud of joining the party nurtured by his grandmother, the BJP, with capital and effort. “I have sacrificed everything and joined it [the BJP],” he said.
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Cautioning workers that a post should not be important, he said, “For us, if there is something that should hold importance, it should be respect and identity.”
Avoiding hitting out directly at the Kamal Nath government that his supporters hold responsible for ignoring him, Mr. Scindia said Mr. Chouhan “could do that [criticise the Congress] better”.
Furthermore, he said there were two kinds of people in the country — those for whom the mission was politics and the medium was public service, and vice versa. “I proudly belong to the second kind that includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and my grandmother Vijaya Raje Scindia for whom the mission is public service and the medium is politics,” Mr. Scindia said.
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He highlighted his similarity with Mr. Chouhan: “I have said it publicly before — if there are two leaders in the State who don’t switch on the air conditioner in their vehicles, it’s Scindia and Shivraj.”
He pointed out that he had raised farmers’ issues while being with the Congress. “You assailed the government from outside, but I criticised it from within, which is extremely difficult,” he said.
