There was a time when the Congress had leaders but no party. After the Jyotiraditya Scindia quitting episode, there is no party and no leadership. After Scindia quit and joined the BJP, the two top leaders of the mother-son party have left the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh to salvage the sinking government alone. As Scindia said, the Congress party is unwilling to see the reality.
Soon after he joined the BJP, Scindia was announced as a candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh, though this was not mentioned by Scindia as a reason to join the BJP.
Going by the pathetic condition of the Congress party under Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, it will not be a surprise if more Scindias begin to make a beeline for the BJP.
Also read: These are the 5 key young Congress leaders ‘sidelined’ like Jyotiraditya Scindia was
Not a real loss
While his quitting the Congress is not seen as a great loss to that party, it is doubtful if Scindia joining will greatly help the BJP in elections. Both the parties will, therefore, have to draw their respective balance sheets and determine whether Scindia was a non-performing asset or prospective gain.
The scion of the Scindia family who was considered very close to the Gandhi family enjoyed a special status in the Congress party. But Jyotiradtiya Scindia was seldom considered a strategist of electoral politics. As general secretary in-charge of the Congress in western Uttar Pradesh during the 2019 Lok Sabha election, his tally was zero. The only seat the Congress won was that of Sonia Gandhi in Raebareli, obviously due to her own merit and to some extent, her daughter’s charisma of ‘resembling her grandmother’.
The BJP’s vote share in Madhya Pradesh assembly election fell from 44.9 per cent in 2013 to 40.9 per cent in 2018, it was still better than that of the Congress (40.8%), even though the Congress got five seats more than that of the BJP. In all this, Scindia’s contribution was practically next to nil. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the BJP won 28 out of 29 seats only due to Modi’s appeal and Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s efforts and sympathy that ‘a good man (‘mama ji’) lost with very less margin’.
The Congress did not need Scindia to win elections. Obviously his claim to chief ministership was overruled considering the fact that his contribution to victory was marginal. For the Madhya Pradesh Congress, more than the loss of Scindia, the prospects of losing the government due to the desertion of the 22-odd legislators, including ministers, is a greater loss. Kamal Nath is likely to employ all the tricks in the political trade before giving up the fight, in which the apex leadership would in all likelihood be a mute spectator.
Also read: The many hurdles Jyotiraditya Scindia faces in BJP before he can fulfil his dreams
Bad sportsmanship
Jyotiraditya Scindia lost his Guna seat to his former personal assistant and ‘protege’ by a margin of 1.25 lakh votes. The Guna seat was won first by V.G. Deshpande of the Hindu Maha Sabha in 1952 (when the state was still called Madhya Bharat). Jyotiraditya’s grandmother, Vijaya Raje Scindia, won it in 1957, 1967, 1989, 1991, 1996 and 1998. His father Madhavrao Scindia won the seat in 1971, 1977, 1980 and 1999. Jyotiraditya Scindia himself won the seat in 2002, 2004, 2009 and 2014.
It is strange that he should feel that “serving the people cannot happen in this (Congress) party”.
Scindia lamented in his press conference in the BJP headquarters that the Congress today is not what it used to be in the past. The reality is that he was one of the modern architects of that party. For him to slam the Congress especially when it is down and out is bad sportsmanship, to say the least.
Also read: Scindia in BJP: Congress leaders can’t do without power or Gandhis failing to revive party?
The outsiders
Yet, Scindia quitting the Congress has to do more with the way the Rahul Gandhi-Sonia Gandhi is behaving after two consecutive defeats in Lok Sabha elections. If media reports are to be believed, the top leadership under the firm grip of the Gandhi family has no time for revamping the party and much less inclined to introspect successive defeats. In such a situation, political leaders with age on their side will naturally look for greener pastures. For the 49-year-old third-generation Scindia, the BJP offers much more than what the Congress can offer, for probably another two decades.
For the BJP, it will be rather uncomfortable to absorb the fact that Scindia could add value to the current cabinet and bring in fresh ideas. This would be seen as an adverse remark on the performance of the current lot of ministers under Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, most of whom have been with the BJP for more than three decades. Another issue that the party will have to foresee is the possible restlessness among party loyalists and ideological torchbearers who could feel ‘ignored’. While many of them would prefer to keep their reservations under wraps, the BJP’s central leadership would do well to employ political semiosis to understand and rectify any grievances arising out of the lateral entry of non-cadre popular ‘outsiders’.
The author is a member of the National Executive Committee of the BJP and former editor of Organiser. Views are personal.
From the tone of Shri Chari’s articles in The Print over the year or so, it seems that he is headed the way of Shri Yashwant Sinha and Shri Arun Shourie.
May be he should have changed surname Gandhi would have been a better alternative…
the only silver lining i that BJP now has one more non-RSS face.
Chari writes – 1. “The only seat the Congress won was that of Sonia Gandhi in Raebareli, obviously due to her own merit and to some extent, her daughter’s charisma of ‘resembling her grandmother’.” One would think that if at all, the reasons for Sonia’s win should have been rather in the reverse order!
2. “This would be seen as an adverse remark on the performance of the current lot of ministers under Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, most of whom have been with the BJP for more than three decades.” While the time lines may be true, it does not mean that it gives someone a right to be a minister unless one is really capable and that outside, young talent cannot come in. Jyotiraditya may not be a big deal politically, but he would certainly do well as a minister and would add to the efficiency of the Cabinet. If anything, Modi is seriously constrained by lack of quality ministers in his cabinet. Jay Panda, Jyotirditya etc would be a good addition to the Council of Ministers.
Otherwise, a good article to read.
seems chari ji has been sidelined. He should understand that people make fun of disgruntled leaders. Chari Ji has been a loyal soldier, hope he doesnt go arun shourie’s way…
Scindia is being put under house arrest in Rajya Sabha and with this his PA who won the LS seat defeating his boss would slowly erode his base and its suits well for BJP. Even if gets the Ministry as part Rangpamchmi, BJP would make sure that he is unpopularised. Already his aunt in Rajasthan is marginalised, in all probability he would join her. Chariji is right BJP is ignoring loyal original Sangh members at cost of imports.
This is ridiculous.
For the BJP, it will be rather uncomfortable to absorb the fact that Scindia could add value to the current cabinet and bring in fresh ideas. This would be seen as an adverse remark on the performance of the current lot of ministers under Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, most of whom have been with the BJP for more than three decades.
This is obvious and why should it not be so? There is no one in the party to rebel against Modi or Shah.
Another issue that the party will have to foresee is the possible restlessness among party loyalists and ideological torchbearers who could feel ‘ignored’. While many of them would prefer to keep their reservations under wraps, the BJP’s central leadership would do well to employ political semiosis to understand and rectify any grievances arising out of the lateral entry of non-cadre popular ‘outsiders’.
Both Modi and Shah are adept at calculating the gains. What has happened in Maharashtra is evidence of this