Amit Shah cleared decks for Jyotiraditya Scindia’s entry into BJP

The swift and well-guarded moves that preceded Jyotiraditya Scindia’s formal entry into the Bharatiya Janata Party were overseen by former party president and Union home minister Amit Shah.

The swift and well-guarded moves that preceded Jyotiraditya Scindia’s formal entry into the Bharatiya Janata Party were overseen by former party president and Union home minister Amit Shah.

Shah and Scindia are understood to have been in touch, both directly and through intermediaries, for several weeks now. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO)

It was Shah who met Scindia on Tuesday and later accompanied him to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence to clear the decks for the former Congress leader’s entry into the BJP. The two leaders are understood to have been in touch, both directly and through intermediaries, for several weeks now.

According to one state functionary, the royal family of Baroda also played a role in initiating dialogue between Shah and Scindia.

Also watch: Why Jyotiraditya Scindia quit Congress | Madhya Pradesh crisis

A senior BJP functionary said Scindia’s resignation from the Congress will not only help the BJP reclaim Madhya Pradesh, a bastion that it had lost in the 2018 state assembly poll, after being in power for three consecutive terms; but also lead to the emergence of a new leadership in the state.

“He is a young, dynamic leader, who has the experience of being in charge at the state as well at centre. Right now there are senior leaders such as Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Narendra Tomar, but the party has to have younger leaders to take it further,” said the functionary quoted above.

A second functionary said Scindia’s joining will help the BJP strengthen its position in the Gwalior-Chambal region of the state, considered a Scindia stronghold.

In the 230-member Madhya Pradesh assembly 34 seats are in this region. The region is also considered a pocket borough of the erstwhile royal family of Gwalior. In the last assembly election, the Congress had an edge over the BJP after winning 75% seats in the region, while the BJP’s tally went down from 18 in 2013 to seven in 2018.

The BJP has also redoubled its efforts in the region which is the hot bed of caste politics and it was here the protests against dilution of the SC/ST prevention of atrocities Act was seen the most. The BJP, which has been working on social engineering to expand its vote bank, has been wooing the SC and ST communities in the region.

For now, there is speculation that Scindia may join the cabinet at the Centre, which will provide a boost to the talent in the government, given the former Congress leader’s administrative experience, energy and ability to articulate key policy issues.

According to people aware of the developments, even as there was speculation that Scindia would leave the Congress party, a host of state leaders were unsure whether he would join the BJP formally or float his own party.

“The negotiations were limited to Shah and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan. On Monday this issue was also discussed with BJP president JP Nadda when Shah met him,” said the second functionary.

Following a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Shah, Scindia announced his resignation from the Congress and later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the evening.

There was no word on what transpired at the meetings Scindia held with Shah and Modi.

“The BJP had been closely watching the developments unfold in the state, but did not make any move to topple the Kamal Nath government. Only when it became clear that intra-party disagreements which were evident in the form of open rebellion by MLAs made it untenable for the Congress government to continue, did the BJP take proactive steps. Many MLAs had reached out to the BJP, dismayed by their party’s leadership,” said a BJP functionary aware of the details.