Politics | Jyotiraditya Scindia was left with no option in the Congress

Jyotiraditya Scindia’s decision to quit the Congress has stunned his supporters and critics alike, and has also brought back focus to a meltdown the Congress is facing since the 2019 parliamentary elections.

The drift is so telling that even key Congress leaders have begun to wonder what is the game plan Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi and daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have for reviving the party.

Shouldn’t have Sonia Gandhi intervened to prevent Jyotiraditya Scindia from quitting the party when she has known him so well for 18 years and his father late Madhavrao Scindia was her closest aide when she had taken charge of the Congress in 1998?

Similarly, should not have Rahul Gandhi stepped in to settle the crisis brewing in Madhya Pradesh? Why did Rahul Gandhi shut doors upon Scindia, who was among his close associates when he took over as Congress President in December 2017? Didn’t Rahul Gandhi and Scindia forge a strong bond charged with the task of rebuilding the Congress? Did they not agree to retire the old guard and work towards inducting fresh blood into the party all over India, and end the stranglehold of some hangers-on?
What caused things to change so much? Did Rahul Gandhi’s frustrations with his own party play a role? Did his refusal to take charge as Congress chief again leave Scindia in do-or-die situation?
That Scindia made his move after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah — in the backdrop of a survival crisis for Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath — has riled some Congress leaders.
They feel outraged that Scindia has facilitated the chances of a BJP government in Bhopal. Hence, they do not mince words to convey their ire over Scindia and even accuse him of a selfish pursuit unconstrained by the ‘secular-saffron’ ideological barrier to take the plunge.
Their conclusion is that Scindia has strengthened Modi to spite his detractors, both Nath and Digvijaya Singh.
Is it all for a Rajya Sabha berth? Why didn’t Scindia form his own party like his father did in 1996, and not joined hands with the BJP?
Could he not have been like Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar (who left the Congress to form their own parties in West Bengal and Maharashtra) and create his own party in MP while opposing the BJP?
However, the truth lies somewhere in the backdrop of all these questions.
By all accounts, the experiences of his father, Madhavrao Scindia, would have forewarned him from pursuing a lonely furrow in today’s political times. Scindia senior had left the Congress to form the Madhya Pradesh Vikas Congress in 1996 after serious differences with late former PM Narasimha Rao. He was denied ticket to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Gwalior over the entries in the Jain hawala diaries.
Madhavrao Scindia contested and won the Gwalior seat, defeating the official nominee. He returned to the Congress much wiser in 1998 after Sitaram Kesri displaced Rao as the party chief.
A definite trigger for Jyotiraditya Scindia to act now could have been the impending elections to the Rajya Sabha where three seats are up for grabs.
However, more than a berth to the upper house, the attitude of the mother-and-son duo seemed to have left Scindia with a bitter feeling. They chose to side with Nath despite Rahul Gandhi’s earlier promises to Scindia for a better say in Madhya Pradesh’s affairs. His band of loyal MLAs, some of whom were ministers, felt side lined since the Congress came to power in MP in December 2018.
Did Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi chose to side with Nath because he was more ‘resourceful’ to them as a fund gatherer for the AICC — though his stewardship of the state government had led to severe disappointment among the Congress MLAs?
Soon after Nath was installed as CM, Rahul Gandhi tried do a balancing act. He had even posted a picture with Scindia on his right and Nath on his left with a line borrowed from Leo Tolstoy: “the two most powerful warriors are patience and time.”
However, as days rolled by, Scindia and his MLAs found themselves to be out of reckoning. They were kept out by Nath on areas of key decision-making process. The doors of the Congress ‘high command’ appeared to be shut for Scindia for any redress. For Scindia, who was perceived as being too close to the Gandhis, he could not ignore the writing on the wall.
His friends began to wonder whether he was side lined by Sonia Gandhi because he was perceived as someone who could eventually become a threat to Rahul Gandhi if he became successful in Madhya Pradesh. Also, why did Nath gain so much clout despite the 1984 riot taint? There was a talk that Nath opposed Scindia as a Rajya Sabha candidate and even pitched for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for the seat (so the latter could hold on to her government bungalow). Digvijaya Singh also wanted to continue his term in Rajya Sabha.

With his aunts — BJP leaders Vasundhara Raje and Yashodhara Raje — more than willing to bury their hatchet against him, ghar wapsi (home coming) seemed the only option.

Shekhar Iyer is former senior associate editor of Hindustan Times and political editor of Deccan Herald. Views are personal.