Suave leader, firefighter, orator: Jyotiraditya Scindia donned many hats in Congress | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Suave leader, firefighter, orator: Jyotiraditya Scindia donned many hats in Congress

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | By
Mar 11, 2020 12:35 PM IST

After the untimely death of Madhavrao Scindia in a plane crash, Jyotiraditya Scindia took the plunge in electoral politics and filed a nomination for the by-election in the Guna parliamentary constituency of Madhya Pradesh.

Jyotiraditya Scindia’s long and eventful political career in the Congress party started after his father Madhavrao Scindia’s untimely death in 2001. And on Tuesday—on the birth anniversary of his father—Scindia will embark on a new political journey in his life from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The Harvard and Stanford University-educated Scindia has been the Congress’ pillar of strength not just in Madhya Pradesh but in the Centre as well. He was one of its top assets in Parliament as well as the organisation.(PTI)
The Harvard and Stanford University-educated Scindia has been the Congress’ pillar of strength not just in Madhya Pradesh but in the Centre as well. He was one of its top assets in Parliament as well as the organisation.(PTI)

For many workers in the Congress, Jyotiraditya Scindia, 49, stood for what was seen as the modern face of the grand old party. Suave, highly educated, untainted and with a clear understanding of issues and a deep connection to the grassroots.

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After the untimely death of Madhavrao Scindia in a plane crash, Jyotiraditya Scindia took the plunge in electoral politics and filed a nomination for the by-election in the Guna parliamentary constituency of Madhya Pradesh.

Scindia, the grandson of Jivajirao Scindia (the last maharaja of the princely state of Gwalior’s) defeated his nearest rival, the BJP’s Desh Raj Singh, by a margin of 450,000 votes. He went on to win the seat for four straight terms but lost the polls in the last general elections, primarily due to infighting within the Congress. Many party insiders pointed fingers at some senior state leaders of the party for Scindia’s defeat.

The Harvard and Stanford University-educated Scindia has been the Congress’ pillar of strength not just in Madhya Pradesh but in the Centre as well. He was one of its top assets in Parliament as well as the organisation.

During the UPA government, Scindia was inducted in the Union council of ministers first as the minister of state for communications and information technology in 2008. A year later, in the second UPA government, the young Scindia was given the charge of Commerce and Industry as the minister of state.

On October 28, 2012, Scindia was made the Union minister of state (independent charge) for power. Among the young Turks of the Congress, he was the first to be given an independent charge as a minister of state.

In Parliament, Rahul Gandhi, Scindia, Sachin Pilot, Milind Deora and Jitin Prasada were seen as a close-knit group that sat next to each other and often led the party’s attack against the political rivals. A fiery orator, Scindia was later made the chief whip of the party in the 16th Lok Sabha when Narendra Modi came to power at the Centre in 2014.

With the exit of Scindia, the Congress has not just lost a bright, young leader but also a key face of the party at a time when it is grappling to give a new shape to the organisation.

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