Last week, when Congress leaders exhorted him to rethink his resignation as party president, Rahul Gandhi told them that he would have, if only they, too, had quit with him. Apparently, Rahul was miffed that most of his general secretaries had shied away from taking the blame for the rout in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
There was, however, one leader who had stepped down with Rahul—Jyotiraditya Scindia. The young general secretary had quit as the party in-charge of western Uttar Pradesh; the Congress had scored a duck there in the Lok Sabha elections.
But now, Scindia has gone one step further, quitting the party altogether.
When Scindia had given up his post along with Rahul, he wanted to be rewarded for his loyalty. Instead, over the months, he found himself being ignored, if not punished. It stung him, yet he stayed on for close to ten months.
But then, on the morning of March 10, the day his father, Madhavrao Scindia, would have turned 75, he drove to the Lok Kalyan Marg residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where Home Minister Amit Shah was also present, and ended an 18-year association with the Congress.
The seeds had been sown months ago. It was not just that Scindia felt shut out of the power dynamics in Madhya Pradesh, which is dominated by Chief Minister Kamal Nath and senior leader Digvijaya Singh. It was more a result of the breakdown of trust and the snapping of communication lines between him and Rahul.
It seems that Rahul did not like Scindia’s calls for an urgent settlement of the leadership issue, and his statement that the party should collectively decide on who its new president should be. Moreover, the fact that Scindia supported the abrogation of Article 370 and wanted the Congress to adopt a nuanced approach to hindutva did not go down well with Rahul.
This story is from the March 22, 2020 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 22, 2020 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
There Is A Wind Blowing Against The BJP, And It Will Only Pick Up Speed
Interview - Akhilesh Yadav, Former Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh
Between hospital and home
Transitional care centres can add a lot to India's health care system
EFFORT VS EFFECT
The government's attempts to ensure quality drugs is evident, but how well new policies can be monitored on the ground remains to be seen
A way to let go of fear
Accepting the use of adult diapers is a journey with various stages-denial, concealment, rejection and reluctance
Mandeeps & a miracle
Two strangers, one deadly disease and an act of kindness. How Mandeep Mann saved Mandeep Singh, an acute leukaemia patient, by donating his stem cells
The A, B, C of cosmetic surgery
Between eight to 10 lakh cosmetic surgeries happen in India every year. Who is an ideal candidate, and what are the risks and results you can expect?
Vaccines and meningitis
In sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east, and encompassing the northern part of Nigeria, there exists a region known as the African Meningitis Belt (AMB).
Celebrating diversity and inclusivity
As Indians battle it out in our nation's 18th general election, it is again time for voters to reflect on the \"Idea of India\"-or rather, on two duelling ideas of India that are now before us and between which the nation must choose at the ballot box.
Defendant: an Hermès handbag
When Hermès was hit with a class-action lawsuit last month for \"antitrust\" activities, it didn't see it coming. Most of the luxury world has all eyes on this suit, filed by two interested consumers who claim they were denied a purchase, and whether it would go to trial.
A legacy, bound
Amal Allana's biography of her father, Ebrahim Alkazi, is as much personal as it is historical