A closed-door meeting between Rajya Sabha member and ex-chief minister Digvijaya Singh and ex-Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, scheduled to be held in Guna on February 24, has attracted huge political attention.
The Congress stalwarts are considered political rivals and their closed-door meeting, scheduled for about 45 minutes at Guna circuit house, comes in the backdrop of upcoming elections for three Rajya Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh falling vacant on April 9.
One of these seats is currently held by Digvijaya Singh, while two are with the BJP (Prabhat Jha and Satyanarayan Jatia).
Given the current strength of the Congress (114) and the BJP (107) in the 228 member house (two seats have fallen vacant due to death of members), it is clear that one each seat for both the parties is assured.
For the third seat, though the Congress is the favourite, it will require the support of the SP, the BSP and independent members in the house. These members are already supporting the Congress government in the state and normally are expected to vote in favour of the ruling party, but the BJP will try its best to try and wrest the third seat.
Scindia, who has yet been denied the post of MP Congress Committee chief despite strong parleys over the last one year by his supporters, is being considered as a frontrunner for one of the RS seats. The scenario regarding another seat is not clear and though there are speculations that Digvijaya Singh might be retained, there are also chances that any Congress leader from outside Madhya Pradesh might be adjusted on the seat.
Demands to send Priyanka Gandhi to Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh have already been made.
In such a situation, the meeting between Digvijaya Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia assumes importance. Scindia has recently been quite vocal against the state government of his own party and there was tension brewing between him and chief minister Kamal Nath again recently.
Also Scindia’s supporters again became active during past one month and recently posters came up in Shivpuri (part of Scindia’s former constituency) that attacked Kamal Nath over one-man one-post promise. A women Congress office bearer, who is a supporter of Scindia, has demanded that he launch a separate party or revive the party once launched by his late father Madhavrao Scindia.
With political scene hot in the state, also with BJP getting a new aggressive state president in V.D. Sharma, all eyes are on the meeting of Digvijaya Singh and Scindia, to be held on Monday at 1.15 pm.