Wish things could have been restored ‘collaboratively’: Sachin Pilot on Scindia’s exit from Congress

Unfortunate to see @JM_Scindia parting ways with @INCIndia. I wish things could have been resolved collaboratively within the party.

— Sachin Pilot (@SachinPilot) March 11, 2020

Meanwhile, among the first to welcome the former Congress leader to the party fold, minutes after he joined BJP, was his aunt and former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who said it was “good to be on the same team”.

“If Rajmata Sahab (Vijayaraje Scindia) was here today, she would be elated to see you put the nation first. I admire your strength of character and courage. It’s good to be on the same team. Welcome to the BJP,” Vasundhara Raje tweeted.

If Rajmata Sahab was here today, she would be elated to see you put the #NationFirst.

I admire your strength of character and courage. It’s good to be on the same team.

Welcome to the BJP.@JM_Scindia pic.twitter.com/O1BU80R5By

— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) March 11, 2020

Rajmata Sahab, as Vijayaraje Scindia was popularly known, the grandmother of Jyotiraditya Scindia, won her first election as a Congress candidate in 1957 from Guna. She later won as a candidate of the Jan Sangh, Swatantra Party and BJP, of which she was a founding member.

Jyotiraditya Scindia joins BJP in presence of its party president J P Nadda. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)

Yashodhara Raje Scindia, who is the Shivpuri MLA and former MP minister, hoped for a “good aunt-nephew combination”. “Very happy today. The government will be formed under Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s leadership. We are happy as I have worked under him and know what wonderful schemes we had for people and today we don’t have those,” ANI quoted Yashodhara as saying.

Welcoming Scindia in BJP, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the “disgruntlement of Maharaj (Scindia) with the Congress is justified”.

“This is a joyous day for BJP and me personally. Today, I remember Rajmata Scindia. Jyotiraditya Scindia has become a member of the BJP family. The entire family is with BJP. They have a tradition where politics is a medium to serve people,” Chouhan said.

Minutes after joining BJP, Jyotiraditya Scindia was named the party’s Rajya Sabha nominee. (Express photo by Tashi Tobgyal)

Immediately after joining the BJP, Jyotiraditya Scindia was named the party’s Rajya Sabha nominee from Madhya Pradesh along with Harsh Chauhan of the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram.

Expressing that he was “hurt and distressed” in his previous organisation, Scindia said the Congress was no longer that party it used to be while asserting that the country’s future was totally secure in PM Modi’s hands.

In a veiled attack on the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh, Scindia said, “the dream we saw for Madhya Pradesh has been shattered in 18 months”.

ज्योतिरादित्य सिंधिया जी को भाजपा में शामिल होने पर बधाई। भाजपा के मप्र के नेताओं को भी मेरी हार्दिक बधाई।

— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) March 11, 2020

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh also congratulated Scindia on joining the BJP. “Congratulations to Jyotiraditya Scindia ji on joining BJP. My heartiest congratulations also to BJP leaders of Madhya Pradesh,” he tweeted.

Earlier in the day, Singh claimed 13 of the 22 rebel Congress MLAs in Madhya Pradesh didn’t want to quit the party and were led away only to create pressure on the leadership to nominate Scindia to the Rajya Sabha. He also asserted that the Kamal Nath-led government would win a floor test.