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?Congress? hat trick is beyond any doubt?
"Congress? hat trick is beyond any doubt in Madhya Pradesh this time" (Jyotiraditya)
As the youngest of Member of Parliament, Jyotiraditya Scindia is one Congress leader who is being watched keenly by politicians and political observers alike. His maiden yet extraordinarily thumping victory from Guna Parliamentary constituency one and half years ago provided a shot in the arm to the ruling party. In his short stint as an MP the Scindia Jr has clearly established himself as a charismatic mass leader that Congress woefully lacks in Madhya Pradesh. The chip of the old block is tipped to be the star campaigner for th Congress in the impending Assembly elections. He spoke to Abhilash Khandekar on the party’s prospects and other issues.
Q. How do you rate the Congress chances of scoring a hat trick overcoming the strong anti-incumbency factor?
A. The will of the people, choice of the people always reigns supreme in electoral battles. I have full confidence that people of MP would put the State on the forefront of the process of change that is sweeping the country by re-electing the Congress to power as they have done twice in the past. Congress’ hat-trick is beyond any doubt.
Q. The BJP is repeatedly accusing the Congress of neglecting development of the State. You and your father always talked about politics of development. How do you react to the BJP charge?
A. I must clarify that my father in his lifetime did not talk about politics of development; he did not mix politics and development. He talked about development and development all through his 30-year long political career. His main inspiration was to uplift people and therefore the sole concentration was on politics as a means to fulfill that objective. I have committed myself to the same goal. In the 18 months as MP my endeavour has been to bring about all-round development in my area—-health sector, water harvesting, power and roads. I am happy to share with you that over Rs 600 crore worth projects are already in the pipeline in the Guna-Gwalior region; chief among them are: Rs 25 crore Escorts Hospital in Gwalior; counter-magnet city for services sector and setting up of national institutions like NIIT and MIT which are planning universities there. Let me tell you, only in Guna-Shivpuri region Rs 100 crore have been pumped in for roads and power. For water harvesting techniques we sought Magsaysay award winner Rajendra Singhh’s help in Guna-Shivpuri area to help overcome the scarcity. Like for my father, development comes first before anything else for me.
Q. The infrastructure sector is said to have lost out to the social sector progress in MP resulting in the present backwardness. Comment.
A. The circle of overall development and progress has no end. In shastras too there is no beginning and no end. The life cycle of development is continuous in different fields. Efforts have been made in the State for all-round development—social and infrastructure sectors. Rs 2000 crore have been spent for up-gradation of roads. Our manifesto would soon unveil the Congress Government’s pledge for completing whatever is left to be done in other areas and I have no doubts that people would repose their confidence in the progressive policies implemented under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi. For the first time in the history of the country a Chief Minister’s Council is formed by Soniaji. Best practices of management and governance are being exchanged among the Congress CMs at the forum. The unique learning process piloted by Soniaji is benefiting all states. We have learnt the water harvesting and drought management from Rajasthan and Bhagidari project from Delhi; other states have learnt MP’s successful experiments of devolution of power and social sector reforms. We have many arrows in our quiver.
Q. But power problem appears unending. Neither the farmers nor the industrialists are happy with the situation. How do you see that?
A. You are aware of the origin of the problem. Ours was a power surplus State but the bifurcation of the State three years ago and related problems aggravated the situation. However, I am emphatic that Congress is committed to eradication of the problem very soon. Party has put in place a plan and a vision to tackle the situation and is indeed sensitive to the people’s woes. Already power purchase agreements have been finalised with other states and 4-5 new projects, including Indira Sagar, Maheshwar, Omkareshwar and Birsinghpur are nearing various stages of completion.
Q. Do you think that a sizeable chunk of Dalit and women votes would go the BJP way due to the Uma Bharti factor?
A. It’s very clear that MP has championed the cause of the Dalits and the OBC before others thought about it. And let me clarify it that this was not a vote-garnering move but was to ensure that they join the mainstream. It is a genuine effort being appreciated by the beneficiaries. An inarguable fact is their life has been uplifted.
Q. How do you see BSP’s split. In your assessment how would it affect the Congress chances in Gwalior-Chambal area?
A. My firm belief is that Congress has been in good stead after 10 years’ rule and without getting into psephology I can say these developments would not affect my party.
Q. An unprecedented number of women and OBC candidates have got party nominations this time round and quite a number of sitting MLAs (also ministers) have been repeated. What was the ticket pattern?
A. Rise in the representation to women is a good omen. Congress has been talking about greater representation to women in one voice and it has reflected in the tickets. We have also managed to cut about 20 per cent of sitting MLAs’ tickets to take care of the anti-incumbency disadvantage.
Q. Many new players are in the ring this time round like the NCP, SP and BSP factions. Would they prove to be a threat to Congress vote bank?
A. We have to accept the fact that whichever election—Central or State—-multi-party contests are here to stay. I think this augurs well for democracy. Democracy is all about choices. Itt’s important for people to consider only those who stand for progress and development. The Congress track record in MP for sustainable development is outstanding and hence we are not worried.
