MP: Jyotiraditya Scindia spurned Deputy CM offer?

Bhopal: Has Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia spurned the offer of deputy chief minister’s post in the yet-to-be sworn-in Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh, by the party leadership?

Congress circle here has been rife with speculations that the party high command had offered him to be deputy to new chief minister Kamal Nath to assuage his ruffled feelings after his claim to the coveted post was shot down. Mr Scindia had reportedly stuck to his demand for chief minister’s post till the last moment, creating bottlenecks in way of clearing Mr Nath’s name for the position by the party, a senior Congress leader here disclosed to this newspaper on Friday.

Mr Scindia finally yielded to persuasion by the party leadership to back Mr Nath for the post. He, however, declined the offer of deputy CM’s post, indicating that he was not keen to be part of Mr Nath government, the Congress leader added.

Sources said Mr Scindia was apprehensive that he was being marginalised in state politics by rival factions in the party.

“The very move by a factional leader in the party to throw his weight behind Mr Nath in race for the chief minister’s post was more aimed at pushing Mr Scindia out of state politics than putting up a united face of the party here,” another senior Congress leader, in the know of internal politics in the party here, revealed.

Mr Scindia had, however, earlier told the media that there was no difference in the party over who would be chief minister.

Mr Scindia, who secured 26 out of 34 seats in Gwalior-Chambal region that is considered his pocket borough, had campaigned intensively across the state in last two years in Madhya Pradesh virtually singlehandedly, creating a conducive environment for the party to return to power in MP after a gap of 15 years.