Jyotiraditya Scindia likely to join BJP in Bhopal on March 12

PTI photo

Ending his 18 years association with the Congress party, Jyotiraditya Scindia will join BJP on March 12, said sources. Scindia will first go to Gwalior on Thursday after which he will reach Bhopal with his supporters. 

After Scindia's resignation, BJP's Central Election Committee chaired a meeting led by PM Modi at the BJP headquarters on Tuesday evening. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari also took part in the meeting. 

Earlier on Tuesday (March 10, 2020) Scindia posted his resignation letter on Twitter addressing Congress president Sonia Gandhi and wrote that it is time for him to "move on". Hinting at  the growing tension within Congress, Scindia in his resignation letter said, ''I am tendering my resignation from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress and as you well  know, this is a path that has been drawing itself out over the last year.''

In the resignation letter dated March 9, Scindia stated that even after leaving the party his aim and purpose will remain the same. He said, "While my aim and purpose remain the same as it has always been from the very beginning, to serve the people of my state and country, I believe I am unable to do this anymore within this party."

Meanwhile, Jyotiraditya Scindia's son Mahanaryaman Scindia praised his father's decision and said it to be a "courageous" decision. Taking to Twitter he wrote, "I am proud of my father for taking a stand for himself. It takes courage to resign from a legacy. History can speak for itself when I say my family has never been power-hungry. As promised we will make an impactful change in India and Madhya Pradesh wherever our future lies."

Before his resignation, Scindia met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in presence of Home Minister Amit Shah. Scindia also met BJP president JP Nadda before confirming his association with BJP. 

The fresh political crisis in Madhya Pradesh started on Monday (March 9) evening after around 20 MLAs, including ministers, supporting Scindia went incommunicado.

Scindia was angry for being sidelined in the party for the last one year and he was also keen to become the state Congress chief but was denied the post.

Soon after Scindia announced his resignation and 20 MLAs went incommunicado, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath swung into action and called an emergency meeting of senior leaders at his residence including Digvijaya Singh, Jitu Patwari, Bala Bachchan, Sajjan Singh Verma, Surendra Singh Baghel on Monday night. After the meeting ended, all ministers of his cabinet submitted their resignations. The ministers also expressed faith in CM Kamal Nath and requested him to restructure the Cabinet.

Scindia joined politics in the year 2001 after his father Madhavrao Jivajirao Scindia died in an air-crash. Scindia has been an MP from Guna until 2019 and he has a stronghold over this area. Scindia is also a sports enthusiast and he is also the chairman of the regional Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) in India. 

In 2018 assembly elections, Congress won 114 seats in the 230-member Assembly and formed the government with the support of four Independent MLAs and two BSP MLAs and a legislator from the Samajwadi Party (SP). The BJP had secured 109 seats in the state assembly.