Congress’s performance in the Gwalior-Chambal region has stood out in sharp contrast elsewhere in Madhya Pradesh. Of the four seats the party has won, two -- Gwalior and Guna –- are in this region. Congress almost won the Bhind seat where former home minister and a Scindia loyalist Satyadev Katare lost by less than 8,000 votes.
During the Assembly elections when a strong BJP wave was sweeping the State, this region elected quite a good number of Congress MLAs, thanks largely to the whirlwind tours Jyotiraditya Scindia undertook. This time round besides campaigning in his vast constituency, Scindia worked hard in Gwalior for Ramsewak Gurjar whose victory over Jai Bhan Singh Pavaiyya has come as a shock for the BJP.
Insiders say Katare’s narrow loss was due to the reported sabotage by Congress leaders like Dr Govind Singh, Chaudhary Rakesh Singh and Mahendra Boudh.