MP crisis highlights: BJP welcomes Scindia with Rajya Sabha ticket

A day after announcing his resignation from the Congress, Jyotiraditya Scindia joined the BJP on Wednesday in presence of the ruling party's president JP Nadda

3:02 AM

Scindia to file nomination for Rajya Sabha polls on March 13

Jyotiraditya Scindia, who joined the BJP on Wednesday, will file his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections on March 13. Scindia is slated to arrive in Bhopal on March 12 (Thursday). Read more

11:33 PM

Jyotiraditya was one person who could walk into my house anytime: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said Jyotiraditya Scindia was one person who could walk into his house anytime, dismissing suggestions that the party's top leadership was not giving him a hearing. "He was one guy in the Congress who could walk into my house anytime, as he was in with me in college," Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament. He later retweeted a photo of his with Scindia and Kamal Nath after the Madhya Pradesh assembly victory, with a caption of Leo Tolstoy's quote "The two most powerful warriors are patience and time".

11:33 PM

22 MLAs resigned on their own; no pressure, say 6 MP ministers

Six rebel ministers in Madhya Pradesh, who resigned from the assembly in support of Jyotiraditya Scindia, have said that they have done so on their own accord and not under duress. In separate video messages that are doing rounds in social media, these ministers also dismissed claims that they were in touch with the Kamal Nath government.

11:32 PM

There is anger against Cong leadership in every state: Rupani

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Wednesday blamed Congress leadership for the political crisis in Madhya Pradesh and said there is anger against the party's leadership in every state. In Gujarat also the situation is such that Congress groups are fighting for change in leadership here, he said and welcomed former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia's decision to join the BJP.

9:28 PM

Wish things could have been resolved within party: Sachin Pilot on Scindia's exit

On a day Jyotiraditya Scindia joined the BJP, Rajasthan Congress chief and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot termed the development unfortunate, saying he wished things could have been fixed within the party "collaboratively". "Unfortunate to see @JM_Scindia parting ways with @INCIndia. I wish things could have been resolved collaboratively within the party," Pilot said in a tweet on Wednesday.

8:54 PM

7:28 PM

10,000 Cong office-bearers quit party after Scindia: MP leader

After Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the Congress, around 10,000 of its office-bearers have resigned from the party in Madhya Pradesh and several more are likely to do so, a former leader of the grand old party claimed on Wednesday. The ruling Congress, however, refuted this claim and said the supporters of Scindia were creating pressure on other leaders to leave the party. Scindia quit the Congress on Tuesday and joined the BJP in the presence of party chief J P Nadda in Delhi on Wednesday. "About 10,000 office-bearers of the Congress in Madhya Pradesh- from state-level to block-level, including some district presidents, have resigned from the Congress since Tuesday morning owing their allegiance to Scindia ji," former state Congress spokesman Pankaj Chaturvedi, who also quit the party along with Scindia, told PTI on Wednesday.

6:35 PM

BJP names Scindia as its Rajya Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh

The BJP on Wednesday named Jyotiraditya Scindia as its Rajya Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh soon after he joined the party. Scinida quit the Congress on Tuesday. He is an influential leader of Madhya Pradesh where 22 Congress MLAs, most of whom loyal to him, have resigned from the assembly in a bid to topple the Kamal Nath-led government. The BJP announced the names of its nine Rajya Sabha candidates, including former Congress leader Bhubaneswar Kalita from Assam, and allotted two seats to its allies, including Dalit leader and Union minister Ramdas Athawale from Maharashtra.

6:31 PM

Waiting to see what happens in Madhya Pradesh: Pawar

NCP Chief Sharad Pawar says, "We are waiting to see what happens in Madhya Pradesh. People have faith in Kamal Nath Ji's abilities," reports ANI.

6:20 PM

Rahul Gandhi retweets picture with Scindia, Nath

6:12 PM

BJP announces Rajya Sabha candidates for upcoming election

5:52 PM

BJP names Jyotiraditya Scindia as its Rajya Sabha candidate from MP

5:47 PM

Kamal Nath govt will survive, say MP Cong MLAs

Several of the nearly 90 Congress MLAs who landed in Jaipur amid a political crisis in Madhya Pradesh triggered by former Guna MP Jyotiraditya Scindia's exit from the party told reporters that there was not threat to the Kamal Nath government and it will survive. The MLAs arrived at the Jaipur airport around 2.30 pm in a special flight from Bhopal and were received by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot along with other party leaders.

5:47 PM

Horse-trading being done 'shamelessly' in MP: Gehlot

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday accused the BJP of "shamelessly" indulging in horse-trading in Madhya Pradesh on the basis of money power. Those ruling the country are murdering the democracy and the entire country will teach them a lesson, he told reporters at the airport here as he arrived to receive Congress MLAs from Madhya Pradesh.

5:46 PM

Good to be on the same team: Raje welcomes Jyotiraditya to BJP

BJP national vice president and former Rajasthan chief minister, Vasundhara Raje, on Wednesday welcomed her nephew Jyotiraditya Scindia's decision to join the BJP, saying he has followed the high ideals of the legacy of Vijaya Raje Scindia. "Jyotiraditya has followed the high ideals of the legacy of Vijaya Raje Scindia and took the decision in the interest of the country. I welcome this decision personally and politically,” she said in a statement.

4:57 PM

13 of 22 rebel Cong MLAs don't want to quit party, we will win floor test: Digvijaya Singh

Thirteen of the 22 rebel Congress MLAs in Madhya Pradesh don't want to quit the party and were led away only to create pressure on the leadership to nominate Jyotiraditya Scindia to the Rajya Sabha, senior party leader Digvijaya Singh claimed on Thursday. He also asserted that the Kamal Nath-led government in the state, pushed to the brink of collapse with the resignation of 22 MLAs, will win a floor test. On a day that Scindia joined the BJP, Singh said the former Union minister and four-time Lok Sabha MP from the Congress was offered the post of Madhya Pradesh deputy chief minister in 2018 when the party won the state elections but wanted his nominee appointed.

4:57 PM

No Madhya Pradesh-like situation in Maharashtra: Pawar

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday ruled out a Madhya Pradesh-like political drama in Maharashtra, saying the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena-NCP- Congress alliance government is doing "very well" in the state. Talking to reporters at the Vidhan Bhawan in south Mumbai, Pawar also said Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, who quit the party to join the BJP, had sought "quick rehabilitation" after losing the Lok Sabha poll.

4:53 PM

Shivraj Singh Chauhan congratulated Scindia on joining BJP

3:11 PM

Aim of public service not fulfilled by Congress: Scindia

I can say with confidence that the aim of public service is not being fulfilled by  Congress. Besides this, the present condition of the party indicates that it is not what it used to be, says Scindia

3:10 PM

Congress in denial of reality, says Scindia

There is denial of reality in Congress, it has changed what the party used to be: Jyotiraditya Scindia

3:08 PM

3:08 PM

There have been 2 life changing events for me - one, the day I lost my father and the second, yesterday when I decided to choose a new path for my life, says Scindia

3:05 PM

MP govt failed to keep its promise of loan waiver, says Scindia

3:02 PM

JP Nadda expresses happiness over Jyotiraditya Scindia joining BJP

3:00 PM

Scindia thanks J P Nadda, PM Modi and Amit Shah for inducting him to BJP

2:55 PM

J P Nadda welcomes Scindia with a BJP shawl

2:52 PM

A day after resigning from Congress, Jyotiraditya Scindia joins Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of President J P Nadda at Party headquarters.

2:44 PM

Democracy is being murdered: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot

"Everyone can see how democracy is being murdered. MLAs are coming to Jaipur, you can see what kind of horse-trading attempts are being made there (in MP). Aisa nanga naach kabhi nahi dekha gaya hai, jo satta mein baithe huye log kar rahe hain. We stand together." said Gehlot

 

"Such opportunists should have left the party much earlier. Congress party gave him so much for 18 years. People will teach him a lesson," he added

 

2:38 PM

Scindia reaches BJP headquarters, to join party shortly

2:14 PM

Jyotiraditya Scindia leaves from his residence in Delhi.