Dynamic minister and seasoned parliamentarian, Madhavrao Scindia, the scion of Gwalior's royal family, was very far from the all-too-familiar rustic, pot-bellied picture of an Indian politician. From the dusty fields of Indian politics, to the gentlemanly cricket field, Scindia carried himself with equal elan. Quite dapper and ever well-dressed, having understood the pulse of Indian politics, he had over the years maintained his reputation as one of the most sophisticated politicians in the country. A magnetic crowd puller and an eloquent speaker in both English and Hindi, Scindia had the distinction of winning all the Lok Sabha elections he contested and rose to become deputy leader of the Congress in the present Lok Sabha. Scindia was first elected to the Lok Sabha from Guna in 1971 as a Jan Sangh candidate. Since then, he had returned to the Lok Sabha from either Guna or the neighbouring constituency of Gwalior as a Congress candidate regularly until the 11th Lok Sabha elections.
He was inducted into the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1984 as minister of state for railways with independent charge. He handled the ministry with great competence and was lauded by one and all for putting the railways back on track and providing a spurt to modernisation.
He won again in 1989 and then in 1991, 1996 and 1998. He was elected for his ninth term in the Lok Sabha in 1999 from Guna in Madhya Pradesh.
Bureau Report