New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the Congress party Tuesday and sent a resignation letter addressed to interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
In the letter, Scindia thanked her for providing a platform, but said that to “realise the aspirations of my people and my workers I believe it is best that I now look ahead at a fresh start”.
— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) March 10, 2020
The Congress expelled Scindia moments after his letter to Sonia, with K.C. Venugopal, party general secretary issuing a statement that the interim Congress president has approved the expulsion with immediate effect for anti-party activities.
Fourteen Congress MLAs loyal to Scindia also sent their resignations to the state Governor Tuesday, Raj Bhawan sources said.
“We have received resignations of 14 MLAs through two e-mails with attachments,” a Raj Bhawan official told PTI.
Scindia had earlier in the day met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on amid indications that he might join hands with the BJP to topple the Madhya Pradesh government.
Sources said Scindia first met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and then the two leaders met Modi at the prime minister’s residence.
Legislators loyal to Scindia, who has been upset with the Congress leadership with his marginalisation in the affairs of the Madhya Pradesh Congress, are likely to quit the party to reduce the Kamal Nath-led government to a minority.
It is likely to be followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party staking claim to form the government in the state.
According to sources, the BJP is to hold it’s parliamentary affairs meeting at 6pm to discuss further strategy.
(With PTI input)
Also read: 18 Scindia loyalist MLAs camping at Bengaluru resort as the leader quits Congress