Jyotiraditya Scindia skips meeting with Kamal Nath

Amidst speculation about his possible nomination as state Congress chief, former union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia met his supporters on Friday but did not call on Chief Minister Kamal Nath.

“It is not necessary to meet the chief minister every time”, the senior Congress leader told reporters at the state Congress headquarters.

Scindia landed at Bhopal on Thursday night, a day after his meeting with party president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi. He had dinner at his close ally and revenue minister Govind Rajput’s bungalow, where other ministers considered close to chief minister Kamal Nath were conspicuously absent.

Govind Singh, however, played down other ministers’ absence, saying it is not proper to view the dinner meeting through a political prism.

On Friday morning, the former Member of Parliament had breakfast at another minister Sukhdeo Panse’s residence. Later, he went to the state Congress office and received a tumultuous welcome from his supporters who had landed in Bhopal from across the state. The supporters’ rush to meet the leader created a ruckus, causing a gate in the party office to collapse.

Talking to newsmen, Scindia said he had never aspired for any post in his entire political career. He ruled out speculations about lobbying for either the PCC chief post or a seat in the Rajya Sabha.

By-election for three seats to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh is due in April this year. Following Scindia’s meeting with Sonia Gandhi, speculation is rife that his nomination for the upper house is almost certain.

Significantly, Chief Minister Kamal Nath hosted a lunch for party MLAs on Thursday, where he asked them to eschew making public comments on party matters. Although the lunch meeting was ostensibly called to discuss preparations for forthcoming local body and Panchayat elections, its timing fuelled speculation whether it was a show of strength hours ahead of Scindia’s arrival in Bhopal.