Former Union Minister and four-time parliamentarian Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned from the Congress this morning, shortly after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah at the Prime Minister’s residence in Delhi.
In his letter, which is dated March 9 and is addressed to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Jyotiraditya Scindia said: “…this is a path that has been drawing itself out over the last year”.
“While my aim and purpose remain the same as it has always been from the very beginning, to serve the people of my state and country, I believe am unable to do this anymore within this party,” he wrote.
Minutes after he posted his resignation letter on Twitter, the Congress reacted by expelling him for “anti-party activities”. A brief statement by KC Venugopal, the party General Secretary who rushed to meet Mrs Gandhi this morning, said Mr Scindia’s expulsion had been approved “with immediate effect.
Mr Scindia’s moves have left the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh on the brink a dramatic collapse, with sources saying the influential leader may join the BJP today in a shock move and be nominated to the Rajya Sabha as its member.
Sources also said that as many as 25 Congress MLAs stand ready to submit letters of resignation, by fax, to the Speaker of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly in a move that will topple the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government.
Should the government fall, it will be the second since the Congress-JDS government in Karnataka last year and represent a major setback to a party already struggling for relevance after two successive routs in Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP, which has called its MLAs to Bhopal, will hold a meeting at a hotel in the city at 6 pm and is widely expected to stake claim to the government shortly. The party is likely to present former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as its chief ministerial candidate.
Former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh told reporters there is a “conspiracy to topple the government” and accused Mr Chouhan of “lying”.
Earlier today Mr Chouhan said his party was not interested in toppling the government and termed the developments as the “internal matter” of the ruling party.
Congress leaders Sachin Pilot and Karan Singh are leading reconciliation efforts with Jyotiraditya Scindia. Mr Pilot, who is also Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister, tweeted: “I am hopeful the current crisis in MP ends soon and leaders are able to resolve differences”.