MP: Jolt to BJP and Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ex-Min returns to Cong
Bhopal: Giving a jolt to the BJP and Jyotiraditya Scindia in Gwalior-Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh, ahead of by-polls, ex-minister Balendu Shukla returned to the Congress after 11 years. He took membership of the Congress in the presence of the party-state chief Kamal Nath on Thursday here.
Shukla enjoys a key place in Gwalior-Chambal region's politics and is considered a big Brahmin leader in Chambal zone. He has been a three-term minister in the erstwhile Congress regimes in the state.
Balendu was late Scindia's classmate in Scindia school Gwalior and he is known as a 'Bal Sakha' (childhood friend) of the erstwhile Maharaj Madhav Rao Scindia in the state politics.
Shukla was part of the Congress for long time but left the party in 2008 reportedly due to differences with Jyotiraditya Scindia who recently joined the BJP. Shukla was reportedly angry with Scindia's entry into the BJP. Congress is hopeful that Shukla's entry will help the party in the upcoming by-polls. Out of 24 by-polls, the 16 by-elections are to be held in the Gwalior region only. After Jyotiraditya left the Congress, 22 party MLAs resigned from the Assembly that led to the fall of Kamal Nath-led government in the state.
Shukla, once a very close to Madhavrao Scindia, left the Congress and joined the BSP in 2008, later he moved to the BJP in 2009. Madhav Rao Scindia brought Shukla into the politics. Before joining the Congress, he was a bank employee and he contested the first election from Gird Assembly seat of Gwalior district in 1980.
"Late Madhav Rao Scindia brought me into the politics but after his untimely death I tried to work with Jyotiraditya Scindia in the party for around 8 years. But I did not feel comfortable with him and finally, I left the party due to ideological differences with him," Shukla told the Millennium Post. "I have no complaint with Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP leaders, the party gave me respect and position but not any work so I left the party today," he said.
After Scindia joining the BJP, apart from Shukla, former Lok Sabha MP, Prem Chand Guddu also left the saffron party and joined the Congress this week. Guddu had accused that he left the Congress in 2018 due to Scindia's mentality of feudalism.
The re-entry of Shukla and Guddu into the Congress is considered a crucial achievement to party for forthcoming by-polls and it may be a jolt to Scindia because out of 24, the 22 by-elections are to be held in his political bastion.
