‘Even when in Congress, I had wonderful ties with many in the BJP. The BJP was always home’: Jyotiraditya Scindia

Your question itself has a tautology affixed to it. There is no anti-incumbency in MP. The government that has proved its worth for 18 years, lifted the black tag of BIMARU from MP and turned it into a bemisal pradesh (unmatched state) – whether the rise in per capita income from Rs 11,410 in 2003 to Rs 1,40,062, or expansion of road lengths from 44,000 km to 5,00,000, or number of doctors… If anything, people want to continue with the development agenda of the double-engine sarkar of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

The word we kept hearing through the region was badlaav (change), even if there is no deep anger against Chouhan.

I personally think Shivraj Singhji has done a stellar job in the last 15 years… for many of the reasons I identified earlier.

How do you see your role in the BJP in the current election? Is it confined to Gwalior-Chambal?

I am going everywhere the party asks me to, very much like in 2018 (when he was in the Congress). I will be campaigning across the state.

But there seems to be a lot of resistance against you from the local unit.

I think that part is behind us. I am an ordinary worker of the BJP. I am very clear that the strength of my party is my aam karyakarta (ordinary worker)…

Should the party field you for the Assembly polls, like it has fielded other Union ministers and MPs, which seat would you prefer?

I do not answer hypothetical questions.

Would you volunteer for this, given the fatigue factor associated with Chouhan?

I would never answer hypothetical questions. I am an ordinary worker and will do whatever the party asks me to do.

How do you see the OBC factor, which the Congress is raising in a big way, including with its demand for a caste census? During his brief stint, Kamal Nath brought in 27% OBC quota in government jobs.

It was not brought by Kamal Nath, but Chouhan… It was the Congress that opposed an OBC commission. It was the Congress that had opposed the Mandal Commission… The number of women candidates, youth, new faces and OBCs are much higher in the BJP list than in the Congress.

How do you see the Chouhan government’s Ladli Behna scheme, offering money to women? What’s different between this and ‘revdis’, for which the BJP keeps attacking the Opposition?

There is a difference between revdis and empowerment. Millions of women in this country have no source of income. Should we not empower them? Now, Rs 1,250 goes into a woman’s account without corruption or pilferage… Add a poor farmer getting Rs 1,000 a month, and there is enough income for an economically impoverished family. That is the Prime Minister’s vision… to see every Indian… contribute to nation-building.

There is criticism that it hurts state finances, that the annual cost could be as high as Rs 45,000 crore if benefits are hiked to Rs 3,000 per month, as promised by Chouhan.

We have 1.31 crore ‘ladli behnas’ and Rs 1,250 a month adds up to roughly Rs 18,000-19,000 crore. We have the capability… Under the BJP, MP GDP has grown almost 10-fold in 15 years.

In 2022, the Congress won the local body elections in Gwalior after 55 years. One reason cited was the infighting in the BJP. You and Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who has been given a ticket for the Assembly election, are said to be unable to see eye to eye.

That is complete nonsense… There are elections you win, and elections you lose. Post 2020 (when Scindia left the Congress along with 22 MLAs), by-elections were held in 28 constituencies then held by the Congress… If bringing down the Kamal Nath government was so bad, why did the Congress win back only nine of these 28 seats?

Are you comfortable in your new party?

The BJP is my family. I grew up with the BJP around me. My grandmother (Vijayaraje Scindia) was one of the founding figures of the BJP. My father (Madhavrao Scindia) started his political career in the BJP… Even when in the Congress, I had wonderful relationships with many in the BJP. The BJP was always home.

The Congress calls you a ‘betrayer’…

The Congress, unfortunately, spends many sleepless nights thinking about me. But that’s their problem… If only they had delivered to the people what they had promised, this would not have been the situation… If on one side, you have a forward-thinking leader like Prime Minister Narendra Modiji, the choice for someone like me is very clear. It is one who is taking the country forward… to develop it and make it a world power…

On the other side, you have an organisation and a party (the Congress) that is in decay, an institution that does not respect talent and an institution that does not know how to retain talent… The Congress MP outfit is all about itself, corruption and kursi (power)… This is why I had said at the very beginning that I don’t want to be a part of that (the Kamal Nath) government.