Jyotiraditya loses, Scindia citadel of Guna crumbles

NEW DELHI: Irrespective of the party, the electorate in Guna in Madhya Pradesh has always stood by the

Scindia

family. But on Thursday, it handed former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia a defeat, only the third-time a member of the royal family of Gwalior has lost a poll from anywhere.


In 1980, Vijayaraje Scindia lost to former PM Indira Gandhi in Rae Bareli. Though his father, Madhavrao, did not lose a poll, Jyotiraditya’s aunt and former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje lost once from Bhind.

Jyotiraditya’s grandmother and a founding member of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, BJP’s precursor, Vijayaraje retained the seat till she retired from politics. Her son Madhavrao shifted to Guna once he started losing his grip on Gwalior. He went on to represent it till his demise in 2001. Jyotiraditya won the bypoll and has been representing it since. The sitting Congress MP has now lost the bastion to BJP’s KP Singh, a former aide, by over 1.25 lakh votes. The loss is particularly embarrassing for Congress as Jyotiraditya was leading the party’s campaign in western UP.