Gwalior: Other than the Bhopal parliamentary constituency where nomination of Digvijaya Singh has ruffled feathers in the political circles of Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior, the home town of Scindias, is evoking keen political interest over the choice of candidate from both the Congress and BJP.
It all started with sitting MP Narendra Singh Tomar shifting base to Morena. After his departure, supporters of senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia have intensified their campaign to get the ‘queen’ – Priyadarshini Raje – fielded from Gwalior.
During a party meeting on Monday, the Scindia aides, including Pradyumn Singh Tomar, Munnalal Goyal and Imarti Devi, demanded Raje’s nomination with full force. However, it all transpired in the absence of Ashok Singh, the runners up of 2014 Lok Sabha poll who is also a contender for ticket this time.
Scindia, who represents Guna-Shivpuri seat presently, hasn’t yet given an official statement on wife Priyadarshini’s nomination. In February, during an internal party meeting, the Scindia supporters had demanded that Priyadarshini be announced Guna-Shivpuri candidate if Jyotiraditya wants to switch over to Gwalior this time.
Political observers believe Jyotiraditya would want to handpick an easier seat like Guna-Shivpuri -- where the Scindias rules the roost – for Priyadarshini’s debut in politics. Besides Jyotiraditya, his father Madhav Rao and grandmother Vijaya Raje have also represented the seat in the past.
Where it’s Jyotiraditya or Priyadarshini, the BJP needs to work out a few things before naming its candidate from the constituency as Jyotiraditya’s aunt and BJP leader Yashodhara Raje is also among the contenders for Gwalior seat. As Scindias, despite their diverse political affiliations, never take on each other in a direct political battle, the saffron party requires to wait until the Congress names its candidate. It will also be required to consult Yashodhara before naming the candidate.
Meanwhile, the BJP has rested sitting MP Anoop Mishra from Morena and replaced him with Tomar. Mishra, the nephew of late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had pinned hopes on a nomination from Gwalior.
But party seems to have other plans as the panel of probable candidates for the Gwalior seat include former minister Maya Singh, mayor Vivek Narayan Shejwalkar and former municipal commissioner Ved Prakash Sharma. An anxious BJP is also keeping an eye on the possible plans of Mishra. Maya Singh is also a member of the Scindia family and was denied an Assembly ticket.
Given the complicated equation in Gwalior, it seems both the Congress and BJP are required to work out several calculations before naming their candidates from the historical city that has lived under the shadow Scindias, the erstwhile rulers of the princely state and a powerful family that has remained politically relevant to Indian politics for decades.
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