Madhya Pradesh bypolls: Sachin Pilot set to storm Scindia's Gwalior-Chambal bastion

Once touted as the generation next of the Congress, Sachin Pilot is all set to take on his friend Jyotiraditya Scindia, whose loyalists are in the fray in the Madhya Pradesh bye-elections after helping the BJP topple Chief Minister Kamal Nath in March.

Pilot, a former Rajasthan Congress President, is scheduled to address election rallies on Tuesday and Wednesday in the Gwalior-Chambal, a region considered as the stronghold of Scindia, who dumped the Congress to join the BJP in March.

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The Gwalior-Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh is contiguous with the Dausa-Tonk-Alwar belt of Rajasthan where the Gujjar community holds sway and is known to tip the scales in an electoral battle.

Pilot is scheduled to address nine public meetings across Shivpuri, Morena and Bhind districts covering 10 assembly constituencies.

The political trajectories of Scindia and Pilot are similar with both the scions entering the electoral fray after the sudden deaths of their fathers Madhavrao Scindia and Rajesh Pilot in 2001 and 2000 respectively.

Both the scions witnessed a sharp rise in their respective political careers much to the dismay of the local satraps in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Scindia rebelled against the Congress in March and walked out of the party with 22 MLAs in tow, bringing down the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh.

Pilot, feeling sidelined in Rajasthan despite being the state Congress chief and the deputy chief minister, attempted a similar rebellion but saw it fizzle out, forcing him to remain as a “loyal party soldier” in the Congress.

Bye-elections to 28 assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh is scheduled for November 3. The BJP will have to win at least nine seats to gain majority and continue to be in power, while Congress will have to win all the 28 seats to oust Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

The results for the bypolls will be declared on November 10.