MP elections: It’s ‘now or never’ for Congress, says Scindia
Senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia feels it is "now or never" for the Congress party that has remained out of power in Madhya Pradesh for 15 straight years. Scindia however, sought to steer clear of reports about rift among party leaders for the chief ministerial post and said he is not running for any chair and his sole aim is to ensure that his party forms the government.
The Congress leader has toured nearly four dozen assembly constituencies in last six days and plans to cover 50-60 more seats before campaigning ends on November 26.
Congress needs to be relentless until 5 pm on November 26 when the campaign would end, Scindia said while talking to reporters during his election campaign.
Asked if this was the best opportunity for the Congress to come back to power in the state which it has ruled for the maximum time since Independence, the former union minister said, "Well best or not, it is now or never. Full stop. When I say now or never that says it all."
"Therefore, I wanted to put all my energy into campaign for the Congress party. As the campaign committee chief that is my direct responsibility," he said.
When asked if he will contest polls to hold the chief minister's position if his party wins, Scindia made a brief comment: "We will see at that point of time."
"My only aspiration is to serve the people. I am not myself running for any post. What I would want to see is that my party comes into government so that people get served in the right manner," he said.
"I don't think there is any strategy around it but I think it is an individual choice. As far as I am concerned, I wanted to cover as much ground as I could," he said on being questioned if it was a part of some strategy that the Congress was not projecting a CM face.
The Congress leader further said he is well aware about the BJP's election strategy as he has fought them in last three by-elections in Madhya Pradesh in the last one year.
"We know that this is the time for change in the state as people in Madhya Pradesh are very fed up with the current rule as their aspirations are not being met and people are desirous of change", Scindia said.
Besides Scindia, Congress has a number of other influential leaders from Madhya Pradesh including another former union minister Kamal Nath and former chief minister Digvijay Singh.
There have been several reports about a long-running rivalry between Scindia and Nath for the chief ministerial post.
Scindia, a Member of Parliament from the Guna-Shivpuri constituency, secured a win during the last Lok Sabha elections in 2014, despite most of his party colleagues facing a defeat amid a widespread Modi wave at that time.
Madhya Pradesh has always seen a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress, though the saffron party has been in power continuously since defeating the Congress in 2003.
Voting in the state will take place for 230 assembly seats on November 28, while counting is scheduled for December 11.
