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How Jyotiraditya Scindia and Shivraj Singh Chouhan's fates are tied

Scindia holds the key to Chouhan's continuance. In turn, the chief minister seems inclined to see Scindia gets an entry into the Union cabinet.
Last Updated 22 June 2021, 12:39 IST

Dynamics in the Madhya Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could soon change. Jyotiraditya Scindia, a Rajya Sabha member, might get inducted into the Union cabinet. A hopeful Scindia has stepped up efforts to impress upon the BJP high command his willingness to work in tandem with the state leadership. He has also given signs of aligning himself with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Scindia's acclimatisation in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) culture appears to have progressed well. However, Madhya Pradesh BJP leadership remains wary of his ambitions.

There are already indications that there is growing affinity from the RSS towards the man who helped unseat the Kamal Nath government in March last year. It was evident in the composition of the new state BJP working committee that the BJP state unit chief Vishnu Datt Sharma announced on June 8 night.

Read more: Polls and performance to guide imminent Cabinet reshuffle of Modi government

The 403-member panel has accommodated an excellent number of Scindia supporters. It has also honoured him as a permanent invitee in the august company of party veterans, including Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and former Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

Sharma was reportedly not willing to oblige the scion of the erstwhile Gwalior State so generously but yielded under pressure from Nagpur. RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale had asked BJP president JP Nadda to ensure an honourable heeding of Scindia's wish list. This message was duly communicated to Sharma, himself a direct RSS appointee.

Scindia's two-day Bhopal visit followed hectic closed-door meetings among the state's top BJP leaders, including general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Prahlad Patel, former vice president Prabhat Jha and number two in the Chouhan cabinet, Narottam Mishra. They also had secret parleys with state BJP leaders. Except for Narendra Tomar, all the other top leaders are known Chouhan detractors.

Vijayvargiya is without work there days post the West Bengal elections. The BJP general secretary might not be fancying the chief minister's post for himself after the West Bengal fiasco. Still, he is reported to be keen to see that Narottam Mishra replaces Chouhan. Number two in the cabinet, Mishra had played a key role under his mentor and Union Home Minister Amit Shah's guidance in toppling the Kamal Nath government. He was at the forefront in most dealings with 22 MLAs who broke away from the Congress following their leader Scindia.

All these leaders—Vijayvargiya, Mishra, Patel and Jha—had meetings among themselves and state-level BJP leaders in the first week of this month in Bhopal and Delhi. These confabulations have triggered speculation about their rallying together to oust Chouhan.

Scindia holds the key to Chouhan's continuance. In turn, the chief minister also seems inclined to see Scindia gets an entry into the Union Cabinet.

A week later, Scindia went to the Gwalior home of former state minister Jaibhan Singh Pavaiya, the bitterest critic of the royal family. His gesture is being interpreted as an attempt to win over detractors in the BJP.

BJP insiders say Scindia might appear to have pleased the RSS leadership. However, he is yet to win over the prime minister to fulfil his dream of becoming a Union minister, a reward that was part of the deal he had struck while pledging support to the BJP for toppling the Kamal Nath government.

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(Published 22 June 2021, 12:39 IST)

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