Bhopal: Almost 30 years after late Madhavrao Scindia was denied the post of Madhya Pradesh chief minister, history repeated itself as the "so near yet so far" fate befell his son Jyotiraditya.
In 1989, Madhavrao was all set to be the CM but strident opposition from senior leader Arjun Singh, asked to step down as CM after the Churhat lottery scam, ensured that the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi could not give the former Gwalior royal the coveted post.
Singh, in a bid to get his way at the time, had even kept his MLAs ensconced in the Char Imli residence of loyalist Harivansh Singh. Madhavrao was so confident of being given the post that he had flown down from Delhi and camped in the state for two days. Instead, Motilal Vora was made the chief minister.
Twenty nine years later, Jyotiraditya also lost out on the chance to be among the youngest chief ministers of the central Indian state, as Kamal Nath, 72, was picked for the top job in the state.
Congress sources said that Jyotiraditya, Lok Sabha member from Guna, had pointed out to the party leadership that BJP's slogan "Maaf Karo Maharaj, Apne toh Shivraj" was centred around him.
Nath, nine-time Lok Sabha member from Chhindwara, made the cut due to his seniority and support of more party MLAs, the sources said.
Jyotiraditya is the last scion of the Scindia family of Marathas which ruled the Gwalior state in pre-independent central-India.
His grandmother Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia was one of the founding members of the Jana Sangh. Following his mother, Madhavrao also joined the Jana Sangh.
In 1971 Lok Sabha elections, the mother-son duo was among the few leaders who defied the Indira Gandhi wave and emerged victorious from their respective constituencies.
In 1980, he joined Indira Gandhi’s Congress, a party which had jailed his mother during the Emergency-era.
His sisters, Vasundhara Raje and Yashodhara Raje later followed their mother’s footsteps and joined the BJP.
Kamal Nath will be sworn in as the 18th chief minister of Madhya Pradesh on December 17.
