During the 14-month tenure of the Madhya Pradesh government, ominous signs of Jyotiraditya Scindia’s seething revolt were read accurately, and astutely, by a political party, though on the wrong side of the spectrum — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Congress, on the other hand, took him for a fusspot, downplayed differences, snubbed detractors, or simply looked the other way.
If the January 2019 meeting after the Assembly elections, between the BJP’s Shivraj Singh Chouhan, denied the Leader of the Opposition’s post, and Mr. Scindia, denied the Chief Minister’s post, failed to rouse the Congress, at least his support for Article 370’s dilution; the erasure of references to the posts Mr. Scindia has held with the Congress from his Twitter handle (the “former Union Minister, MP of Guna” is now described as “public servant, cricket enthusiast”); his unhappiness with the survey of damage caused by the 2019 floods and claim that poll promises were unkept, pointed to only one direction — an imminent cutting of ties. Still, his undue advice to Chief Minister Kamal Nath to “listen to others” was too sinister to go unnoticed.
Full circle
At the “courtesy meeting” with Mr. Chouhan at his residence, he hinted at burying the hatchet after the election by saying “ raat gayi toh baat gayi ”. The BJP on the stump, especially in his Gwalior-Chambal stronghold, had mocked his titular title: “ Maaf karo Maharaj, hamara neta toh Shivraj (‘Sorry Maharaj, our leader is Shivraj’). On Wednesday, Mr. Chouhan, coming a full circle, stated: “Today Maharaj and Shivraj have become one,” this time, in the presence of Mr. Scindia’s aunt Yashodhara Raje, a BJP MLA, while in New Delhi Mr. Scindia praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership after joining the party.
Second-most popular
Mr. Scindia toured around 100 segments in the run-up to the election and was the second-most popular leader after Mr. Chouhan, the former Chief Minister who strode ahead by 10%-12% points, according to a CSDS-Lokiniti survey. If during the Lok Sabha election, a BJP candidate secured the mandate to re-elect Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister, the Assembly election brought back Congress that rode on Mr. Scindia’s popularity, with his appointment as Chief Minister as the logical end. Refusing to settle for the Deputy Chief Minister’s post, Mr. Scindia was placated by close friend Rahul Gandhi to accept Mr. Nath instead.
The first clear sign of factional rift between Mr. Scindia and Mr. Nath came rather obliquely in the form of Ministers from both sides squabbling in a Cabinet meeting in June, days after the Congress secured the Chhindwara seat, the Nath family’s base, the only one of the 29 seats in the Lok Sabha election. A Minister close to Mr. Nath interjected Pradyumna Singh Tomar while speaking, symbolising an open cornering of the Scindia faction, prompting the Chief Minister to intervene.
Then in August, Mr. Scindia’s dissent amplified nationally, with his backing for diluting Article 370, opposed by the Congress in Parliament. Flirting with the idea of his changing ranks, the BJP in Bhind put up a poster congratulating him for supporting the Centre’s decision, positioning Mr. Scindia, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Mr. Modi in the same frame. Still, to the Congress, the episode seemed too trivial to take notice. Leader of the Opposition Gopal Bhargava even called upon him to quit the party.
Although Mr. Scindia had publicly nursed the idea to be the Chief Minister, later he too often said he never ran after post or power. Yet, his supporters relentlessly and openly vouched to make him the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief, another portfolio with Mr. Nath, to secure a Rajya Sabha ticket for him, and pledged allegiance even if he abandoned the party.
Several signs
While in August, a loyalist threatened to quit the party along with 500 workers if Mr. Scindia was kept at bay from the State’s politics and not made PCC chief, in November an MLA stated he would be the first to quit the party if Mr. Scindia did, in January this year an MLA sat on dharna in the Assembly claiming poll promises were not kept, and another leader in February implored him to revive his father’s defunct party. During each of these episodes, Congress spokespersons told The Hindu infighting within the party was a spectre conjured up by the BJP to stoke anxiety and divert attention from governance.
The only time the Congress’s central leadership took notice was when Forest Minister Umang Singhar wrote to Sonia Gandhi, alleging Digivijaya Singh was attempting to destabilise government and interfering in it. While Mr. Scindia backed the Minister, Mr. Nath said only he was in-charge of the government, denying the charge, further alienating Mr. Scindia. Sonia Gandhi had later sought a report, but no disciplinary action was taken.
