Jyotiraditya Scindia reaches out to rival camp leaders

Bhopal: Amid speculation that he is a front runner for the post of Madhya Pradesh Congress unit president, former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Sunday launched a move to reach out to leaders of rival factions in the party in the state.

Mr Scindia who landed in Indore from Delhi in the morning dropped in the house of Congress MLA Sanjay Shukla in the city to break bread with him.

Mr Shukla who was said to belong to chief minister Kamal Nath’s camp later told reporters that he was very happy to find a senior party leader like Mr Scindia in his house.

He also visited Congress MLA Vishal Patel, believed to be Mr Nath’s loyalist, in the latter’s residence in Indore city.

Later, he paid a courtesy visit to senior Congress leader and former MLA Satyanarayan Patel, said to be close to former chief minister Digivijay Singh, in the latter’s house.

Mr Scindia also held ‘one-to-one’ meetings with workers and leaders, belonging to different factions of the party, from Malwa-Nimad region in a hotel in Indore city, sending a message that he did not believe in confining himself to a particular faction in the party and was keen to take all sections of leaders and workers in the party along with him.

“Congress in Madhya Pradesh as well as in the country is passing through a difficult time. We need to reorganize the party in the state as well as in the country,” he told reporters.

“I will start touring the state to interact with workers and leaders of Congress in coming days”, he added.

He however refused to speculate on the next PCC chief, saying, “I will abide by whatever decision party high command takes on the issue”.

Mr Scindia was in the city to attend the annual body meeting of Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, held in the evening, in the capacity as president of the body. He was scheduled to attend several programmes in Gwalior, his family bastion, on Monday before leaving for Delhi in the evening the same day.