BHOPAL: Five years back, he powered Congress to an emphatic victory in 34 seats located in the Gwalior-Chambal region, eventually paving the way for the Grand Old Party’s return to power after 15 years in Madhya Pradesh in the 2018 assembly polls.
Only 15 months later, he walked out of the Congress with 22 party MLAs, thus scripting the fall of the Kamal Nath-led regime and resulting in the return of another Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government.
Three years and eight months later, Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has played a key role in BJP regaining the lost ground on his home turf Gwalior-Chambal region in November 17 assembly polls. That happened after a loss in Morena and Gwalior mayoral elections in July 2022.
The BJP won only seven of the 34 seats of Gwalior-Chambal region in the 2018 polls. This time, it has either emerged victorious or was leading on 18 seats of the region, pushing the Congress to a close second with 16 seats in the assembly elections.
“I had said the BJP will win. PM Modi’s leadership worked and so did the guidance of Home Minister Amit Shah and national party president JP Nadda. This is a win for our double-engine government,” he said. Responding to his former colleague and Congress national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s jibe on his height during the campaigning, Scindia said, “Someone spoke about my height, but people of MP, particularly Gwalior and Malwa, have shown how tall they are.”