Scindia not in race for Madhya Pradesh CM post, calls himself 'sevak'

He added that the entire BJP is fighting the election under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, as he emphasised that he was not in the fray for the chief ministerial position.

As the state of Madhya Pradesh is all set to exercise its right to vote on November 17, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has clarified that he is not in the race to become the chief minister of the state.

Calling himself a ‘sevak’, Scindia in conversation with NDTV said that unlike the Congress which has people “vying” for power, BJP is a party of workers.

"The Congress has people vying for power, they have groups, they scheme to become Chief Minister, and before elections Congress has some eight leaders claiming to be Chief Minister. BJP is a party of workers. We are all karyakartas, and will remain so,” he told the publication.

He also added that the entire BJP is fighting the election under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, as he emphasised that he was not in the fray for the chief ministerial position. “I am a sewak. I am not in the race at all”, Scindia asserted.

This isn't the first time that Scindia has clarified his take on the CM post. Earlier this month the union minister had said that the name of the Scindia family should never be included in the race for the chief minister's post.

“Never include the name of the Scindia family in the for the chair. The Schindia family works day and night with the passion for development, progress and public service. Due to the work done under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the work done by CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the state for the last 18 years, Madhya Pradesh has come out of bimaru rajya. It has marked a place into the category of an unmatched state,” he had told ANI.

He also took potshots at the Congress for being more focused on becoming actors than development.

"This is the desire of Congress. Whether the Congress should become Jai or Veeru (reference to characters in film 'Sholay'). The BJP is the party that resides in the hearts of the people. The BJP is a party for the development of the people. Neither do we want to become actors, nor do we want to stand with any actress. We want to reside in the hearts of the people," he said.

Exhibiting confidence, Scindia also said that though he was not an “astrologer” he could say that the public will “bless them” on November 17 when they vote and “BJP’s lotus will bloom in every assembly seat. The BJP will form a full majority government in Madhya Pradesh."

However, whether or not the BJP will form a government in Madhya Pradesh will only be clear after the results are announced on December 3.