Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, facing his first election from home turf Guna after shifting to the BJP, appeared quite at ease on the campaign trail. “Politics and elections are not an end for us. it is a beginning to take forward the practice of service to people,’ he told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
The family of “Maharaj” — as the erstwhile royal is known across the area – has been representing the constituency since 1950s. His grandmother Vijayaraje Scindia and his father Madhavrao Scindia were both MPs from whichever party they represented.
Mr Scindia contested his first election in 2002 after the death of his father, and has been a four-time MP from the seat — till he lost to the BJP’s KP Singh Yadav in 2019.
This time, his key opponent is Congress’s Yadvendra Yadav, the son of BJP leader Rao Deshraj Singh Yadav, who was a three-time legislator from Mungaoli. The Congress strategy is to consolidate the Yadav vote, which had paid off for the BJP candidate in 2019.
The Yadavs comprise a chunk of Guna’s population and are expected to account for around 250,000 votes. On the rare occasions the constituency has chosen a non-Scindia to represent them, the candidate belonged to the Yadav community.
The Yadav community’s heft has been reflected in the BJP’s choice of Chief Minister this time. In March, after the Congress candidate was announced, Mohan Yadav had led a Yadav community meeting where Mr Scindia was also present.
The minister appeared unperturbed by the Congress choice.
“In this constituency everyone belongs to me and I belong to everyone. The Scindias have never contested elections on basis of caste and creed. And we have contested against candidates from every community. It is upto a party which candidate they choose,” he told NDTV.
Asked about Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra coming to campaign for the Congress candidate, Mr Scindia – known to be close to the Gandhis before his crossover to the BJP – said: “Any leader can come, we provide them hospitality under the Atithi Devo Bhava (Guests are gods) maxim. We provide them hospitality and after that, bid them goodbye”.
For Mr Scindia, senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister Uma Bharati had hit the campaign trail last week. It was the first time she took part in the current election campaign after being on a “break from politics”. for about four months. “It is my good fortune. She is my aunt and has given me her blessings,” Mr Scindia said.
Asked about the chances of Digvijaya Singh, who is contesting from neighbouring Raigarh, Mr Scindia said, “The Congress is bankrupt in terms of ideology and its human resources. Every day somebody or other is leaving. The Congress is bankrupt in terms of guiding the country’s development, and in terms of candidates”.
The BJP is hoping to win all 29 seats of Madhya Pradesh this time, including Chhindwara, which has traditionally voted for Congress. With former Chief Minister Kamal Nath fielding his son Nakul Nath from the constituency instead of contesting himself, confidence is particularly high in the BJP camp.
