MP polls: Scindia faces heat with Congress eyeing 2023 payback
What's the story
With the much-anticipated polls in Madhya Pradesh around the corner, top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jyotiraditya Scindia is under a lot of pressure, suggested a report by The Indian Express.
To recall, Scindia joined the saffron brigade during the 2020 state Congress rebellion that overthrew then Chief Minister Kamal Nath's Congress government and brought the BJP back to power in Madhya Pradesh.
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Why does this story matter?
Scindia is allegedly feeling the pressure as three leaders, including two of his loyalists, have left the BJP and returned to the grand old party in the past few weeks ahead of the state polls.
Reportedly, under the stewardship of CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the BJP government is currently facing "anti-incumbency," and the Congress is looking to capitalize on it to mark its comeback.
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Scindia's battle against top BJP leaders
Scindia has reportedly been competing for political space since joining the BJP in 2020 alongside top saffron party state leaders like Narottam Mishra and Narendra Singh Tomar.
He has also been on the receiving end of several attacks from his own party members, with BJP leader Arun Bhimawad recently calling Scindia names reportedly while recounting how the Congress-led state government collapsed in 2020.
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Scindia's struggles since leaving Congress
While ex-Congress leader Scindia was sent to the Rajya Sabha by the BJP, numerous of his backers have reportedly highlighted how he has not been "properly accommodated" into the state-level BJP dispensation.
Speaking to The Indian Express, a Scindia-affiliated leader stated his supporters also have their own political ambitions and want to become MLAs.
"There is a long line of BJP leaders," they added.
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Scindia loyalists leaving BJP for Congress
Last month, BJP leader Baijnath Singh Yadav took out a 400-car rally to Bhopal to rejoin the Congress.
Following Yadav's footsteps, another Scindia loyalist Rakesh Kumar Gupta also took out a massive car rally to mark his return to the grand old party fold earlier this week.
In March, BJP leader Yadvendra Singh Yadav also took a dig at Scindia after rejoining the Congress.
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Key role of Digvijaya Singh, son Jaivardhan in MP
According to reports, senior grand old party leader Digvijaya Singh and his son Jaivardhan Singh have been at the vanguard of driving a wedge between the Scindia loyalists and the entrenched camp of the BJP.
Regarding the return of Scindia loyalists to the Congress, Singh stated, "They were Congress people at their core. Scindia ji had invited them and took them to the BJP."
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Details on Modi's Madhya Pradesh visit
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited poll-bound Madhya Pradesh on Saturday to participate in several programs.
According to the news agency ANI, he reached Shahdol on Saturday afternoon and launched the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission.
Earlier this week, reportedly in his second MP trip in three months, the prime minister visited Bhopal, where he flagged off five Vande Bharat Express trains.