Jyotiraditya Scindia: From Rahul Loyalist To Congress

Delhi: Discontented with the grand old Congress party, which he served for around 18 years, over the alleged snub by the old guards of the party, Gwalior royal Jyotiraditya Scindia joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday, plunging the Kamal Nath government into a survival situation.

Scindia has also been nominated by the BJP for Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh.

The man who was once hailed as the young gun of the party and a close aide of former party president Rahul Gandhi, said it was time for him to move on, as he submitted his resignation to Sonia Gandhi addressing her as “Dear Mrs Gandhi.”

His formal induction into the Bharatiya Janata Party, would reunite the Scindia scion to the rest of the clan, which has been BJP loyalist, except for his father Madhavrao Scindia who was quite a successful Congress leader.  Vijaya Raje Scindia (referred to as Rajmata) was one of the founding members of the BJP, after playing a pivotal inning in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Sisters of Madhavrao, Vasundhara Raje and Yashodhara Raje, also remained devoted to the BJP like their mother.

Peeved with his marginalisation in the Congress, Scindia met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday and then the two leaders went to the prime minister's residence where they held talks for over an hour. Soon after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the disgruntled Madhya Pradesh Congress leader tendered his resignation to party president Sonia Gandhi saying it was time for him to move on.


Scindia took the decision to sever his ties with the Congress on the day of his father Madhavrao Scindia's 75th birth anniversary.
Scindia, four-time MP, first got elected from Guna in Madhya Pradesh in 2002 after winning a by-election necessitated by his father's demise. He was only 31 years old at that time.

He gradually made his way up the Congress ladder becoming Minister of State for Communications and IT in 2007 during the Congress-led UPA-1. In 2009, he became Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and in 2012 was appointed Minister of State for Power during UPA-2.

After the Congress lost the 2014 General Election, Sonia Gandhi named him the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha.