Senior BJP leader and former chief minister Uma Bharti on Wednesday joined her party’s campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh after a four-month “break from politics” by canvassing for Union minister Jyotiradiya Scindia in Guna LS constituency in the state.
Ms Bharti addressed two public meetings along with Mr Scindia in Pichhore and Shivpuri, falling under Guna LS seat, and joined him at a road show held in Shivpuri later in the evening.
“This is the first time; Ms Bharti took part in the campaign of BJP for the ongoing LS elections. She had taken a break from politics and was on a spiritual tour to the Himalayas for the last three months”, Raviraj Singh, a close aide of Ms Bharti told this newspaper.
She had not campaigned for the party in the first and second phase of LS elections in the state.
Ms Bharti had maintained low profile in the November, 2023 Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh by virtually keeping herself aloof from party’s electioneering.
The party leadership had evinced little interest when Ms Bharti had offered to campaign for the BJP in the last Assembly elections in the state.
The firebrand saffron leader had appealed to the BJP national president J P Nadda ahead of the general elections not to consider her candidature for the LS polls before going on her spiritual tour to Himalayas.
Ms Bharti had also not contested in the 2019 LS polls citing her health condition.
She had won the polls from Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh in 2014 LS polls.
Sources said that Ms Bharti was roped in by Mr Scindia to campaign in Shivpuri and Pichhore because the two Assembly constituencies have sizeable population of Lodhi community to which Ms Bharti belonged to.
Ms Bharti also enjoys good relations with the Gwalior royal family of Scindia.
She had ‘heartily’ welcomed Mr Scindia when the latter crossed over to BJP after snapping two-decade-old ties with Congress in March 2020.
Mr Scindia is seeking election from Guna LS constituency, considered the family bastion of the erstwhile Gwalior royal family.
He had suffered a shock defeat at the hand of K P Yadav of BJP in the 2019 LS polls. Mr Scindia had then contested from the seat as a Congress candidate.
BJP dropped the sitting MP in Guna Mr Yadav and replaced him with Mr Scindia in the seat in this poll.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has earlier released a letter describing him as witness to the developments undertaken by Mr Scindia.
