Madhya Pradesh: Scandia, Digvijay fail to find time for talks

Madhya Pradesh Congress’s two stalwarts Jyotiraditya Scindia and Digvijay Singh briefly met and garlanded each other but the much-awaited 45-minute closed-door meeting between them could not take place due to ‘paucity of time’ in Guna town on Monday.

Scindia, who is reportedly sulking ever since the denial of the chief minister’s post 14 months ago, was slated to voice his pent-up anguish over his alleged neglect by chief minister Kamal Nath in a meeting with Rajya Sabha member Digvijay Singh.

The scheduled confabulation assumed added significance because both the leaders are strong contenders for nomination to the Rajya Sabha from the state where three seats are falling vacant in March this year and the Congress is set to get two unopposed.

However, their meeting lasted for only a few minutes on the road in Guna where Scindia supporters had put up a large number of banners and posters to greet their leader. There were no posters of Digvijay Singh though.

During the brief meeting, Digvijay Singh addressed Scindia as “Maharaj” and clarified that their relations were “very cordial’.

Digvijay Singh, who was accompanied by his son and urban development minister Jaivardhan Singh, hurriedly left Guna for Indore after greeting Scindia.

Apparently cut up by the absence of posters greeting him in Scindia’s pocket borrow Guna town, Digvijay Singh abandoned the idea of a closed-door meeting with the scion of the Gwalior state.

On the other hand, Scindia's face was visible all over the town in posters and banners. He had come to Guna a second time after his shocking defeat in the Lok Sabha election from BJP candidate KP Yadav, who once happened to be “ Maharaj’s “ ardent supporter in the Congress.

Earlier, icy relations between Scindia and Digvijay had thawed somewhat eight years ago when they had come to inaugurate district congress committee office in Guna. Scindia had then called Digvijay like his father and a source of inspiration. Digvijay, in turn, had termed Scindia as the most competent minister in the Man Mohan Singh government.

However, rampant group-ism in the sate Congress ensured that the schism between the two leaders continued to remain wide.