Madhya Pradesh government in crisis: 16 ministers resign, 17 MLAs fly to Bengaluru

The 15-month-old Kamal Nath government was teetering on the brink of collapse for a second time this week with 17 Congress MLAs including seven ministers loyal to sulking Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia reportedly flying to Bengaluru amid intense speculation about the erstwhile Gwalior royal crossing over to the BJP.

With Scindia and his loyalists missing from Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Kamal Nath went into damage control mode, cutting short his visit to Delhi and rushing back to Bhopal. He was closeted with senior leader and two-term chief minister Digvijaya Singh and later summoned a meeting of his council of ministers.

Late Monday night, 16 ministers who were present at the meeting convened by the chief minister had tendered their resignations to give the leadership a free hand to reconstitute the Cabinet and accommodate sulking members.

Scindia remained incommunicado in Delhi amid reports that he was seeking a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but there was no confirmation about it.

Senior BJP leaders also held discussions about the emergent developments in Bhopal and decided to summon a meeting of the Legislature Party on Tuesday to chart the future course of action.

Scindia had been upset with Congress leadership for overlooking his claim to the post of the president of the party’s state unit as well as a nomination to Rajya Sabha.

Speculations are rife that the Congress is willing to offer Scindia state president post and nomination to Rajya sabha while the BJP is mulling a Union Cabinet position for him, if his support helps topple the Kamal Nath government.

Kamal Nath, who called on party chief Sonia Gandhi, returned to Bhopal after the reports of Scindia supporters fleeing Madhya Pradesh and becoming incommunicado.

Scindia and Nath have fallen out over the post of the state Congress president, which is currently held by the chief minister. Nath had left for Delhi on Sunday night to meet top Congress leaders to discuss the current political situation in the state and nominations for the Rajya Sabha polls scheduled on March 26.

All the ministers and MLAs, who are believed to be in a Bengaluru resort, have switched off their mobiles.

Digvijaya Singh, a Rajya Sabha member from the state, is keen on seeking renomination and his loyalists have started making demands for sending Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to the Upper House in a bid to scuttle Scindia’s chances.

The political drama in the state began last week when 10 Congress MLAs from Madhya Pradesh went ‘missing’. The party pointed fingers at the BJP, which denied any role in it. Since then, eight of the ‘missing’ legislators have returned and expressed their support to the ruling party in the state.