The Congress, which has been trying to corner Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in his bastion -- the Gwalior-Chambal region in Madhya Pradesh, scored a trump on Wednesday as it succeeded in luring back his loyalist Baijnath Singh Yadav.
Among the Scindia camp supporters whose defection to the BJP in 2020 had brought down the Congress government, Yadav is considered to have a stronghold in Shivpuri.
In 2020, he was the district Congress President and his wife was a Congress Zila Panchayat member from Shivpuri.
A Shivpuri-based Congress leader told IANS that Yadav is considered close to Scindia and this was the reason why in 2020 he "sacrificed his political future" to follow him into the BJP. However, a rift between Yadav and Scindia came during the bypoll in Kolaras where the former wanted to contest, but Scindia backed Mahendra Yadav.
Sources said that the rift between the two widened further as Yadav did not support Mahendra Yadav.
Scindia had received several complaints against Yadav regarding his alleged anti-party activities. In the meantime, the Congress, which was striving hard to chip away the Scindia faction, offered Yadav a chance to rejoin the party, sources said.
"Kolaras Assembly has around 27,000 Yadav votes and 35,000 votes of Dhakad community. As the Congress was in search of a strong candidate from Kolaras, Yadav moved one step ahead to approach the state Congress leadership and wished to join the party again," the Shivpuri-based Congress leader claimed.
With the latest development, the Congress has also tried to convey a message that Scindia, who is considered a strong leader in Gwalior-Chambal region, failed to fulfill the promises he had made to his loyalists.
Sources have claimed that several other Scindia loyalists are in touch with the Congress leadership and willing to come back but the Congress is not giving much attention to them.
"At least five to six leaders, who were among the 22 MLAs who shifted to the BJP and toppled the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in 2020, are constantly approaching the Congress leadership, but Kamal Nath is completely against their induction," a senior Congress leader said on condition of anonymity.
Nagpur violence: Rioters tried to molest female police official in Bhaldarpura area, says FIR
A shocking incident has come to light during the violence that rocked the city on Monday night. While the police tried to contain the situation in wake of arson and vandalism, the unruly crowd in Bhaldarpura area tried to tear the uniform of a female police official and molest her.
One dead, several injured in fresh ethnic clash in Manipur's Churachandpur
Fresh ethnic clashes have erupted in Manipur’s Churachandpur district, police said on Wednesday, adding that one person has died and several others were injured.
'The Earth missed you': PM Modi welcomes Sunita Williams and Crew-9 astronauts after extended space mission
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday welcomed the safe return of NASA’s Crew-9, which included astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who had been stranded in space for nearly nine months.
After return to Earth, Sunita Williams undergoes rehabilitation
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have begun a 45-day rehabilitation program to help them adapt to Earth's gravity after spending nine months in space.
Union Minister Chouhan to again hold talks with 28 farmer unions in Chandigarh today
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be meeting farmers again in Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, on Wednesday as part of the Government of India’s outreach with them over their long-pending demands, including a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
India’s daughter Sunita Williams, other astronauts rewritten history of human endurance in space: Rajnath Singh
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh praised astronaut Sunita Williams and her fellow crew members for their extraordinary achievements in space, following their safe return to Earth.