Know the young guns: Jyotiraditya, Jitin Prasada

New Delhi, Apr 6: Jyotiraditya Scindia inherited the mantle of the head of the Scindia family at 31 after his father Madhavrao Scindia's demise in a plane crash in 2002 following which he was crowned the Maharaja of Gwalior.

He, however, did not inherit but won a seat in Parliament (13th Lok Sabha) for his party Indian National Congress in February 2002 from Guna in Madhya Pradesh from where his father had won nine times. A man of wide experience and a passion for public service, the Maharaja of Gwalior was born in Mumbai to Madhavrao Scindia and Madhavi Raje Scindia. After his schooling from The Doon School, he left for US at 19 to pursue an MBA at Harvard University and Stanford Business School, which he recalls as the best years of his life staying like any other undergraduate. Like any other undergraduate, Jyotiraditya admits, he had a good time dating and flirting but felt uncomfortable when he saw his friends working.

So he pushed herself to the limit in his stint as an investment banker for Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. He also gained some development experience with the UN Economic Development Cell with the distinction of being the only undergraduate intern there.

Jyotiraditya's political career might have started at 31 but he had got a taste of it early in life. He had first campaigned for his father late Madhavrao Scindia at tender age of 13.

But his active engagement with politics was sudden.

As he said in an interview, he wasn't quite ready for a role in the public service when ''baba''(Madhavrao Scindia) passed away. ''But if there is a condition which he imposed on me it is that, even if it was of an apolitical nature, I had to take care of the people of Guna''.

The Congress MP was initiated into his new political career with an almost unprecedented lead of more than 450,000 for he was aware of the issues that remain high on the electoral agenda and most importantly, displayed a sincere willingness to serve his people well.

A widely travelled person, he has been to places in both India and abroad. Having managed his father's election campaigns and also having travelled with him extensively within the realms of his constituency made him a natural choice as Madhavrao's political heir.

From 2002-04, Jyotiraditya was a member on the Committee on Finance and Committee on External Affairs and was re-elected to the 14th Lok Sabha (2nd term) where he was a member on Committee on Estimates, Committee on Petitions and Committee on Defence.

He is married to Priyadarshini Raje Gaekwad Scindia of Baroda.

They have two children Yuvraj Mahanaryaman Scindia and Ananya Raje Scindia.

The Congress MP has not been a stranger to family feuds.

Jyotiraditya Scindia was pitted against his aunt and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in a litigation for control of the wealthy charitable trusts set up by Vasundhara's mother, late Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia.

His other interests are Cricket, swimming, reading and wild life conservation. He also has a penchant for fast cars and has done a course in car racing from the US.

Madhavrao Scindia was a regular at the nets at the National Stadium. Later, Jyotiraditya was also sent there to learn cricket.

He is also the chairman of governing body of Madhav Institute of Technology and Science, Gwalior.

Jyotiraditya, for all his multinational experience, is not one to tolerate non-performance and incompetency as he once admitted, "What makes me angry is when I see that people aren't working but just hanging around".

''I think what India needs is not necessarily younger or older politicians but people with purity of purpose, commitment and a vision for India,'' he had said in a chat session where he sweared to bring about ''all-round development in my constituency and country and serve the Congress to the best of my ability.''

Jitin Prasada

A young political leader with wide ranging interests, newly inducted Union Minister Jitin Prasada from Shahjahanpur Constituency, Uttar Pradesh has a prominent lineage to boast of.

Born on 29 November, 1973, to veteran Congress leader Jitendra Prasada and Kanta Prasada, Jitin has a keen interest for social service.

The same is reflected in his association with SRIJAN Jitendra Prasada Foundation and also his dedication towards cause of women, youth, farmers and the underprivileged.

The association of this bachelor Congress MP to his party can be traced back to his father Late Jitendra Prasada, who was the Vice President of the Indian National Congress and served as the Political Advisor to two former Prime Ministers-- Late Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 and Late P V Narasimha Rao in 1994.

His grandfather Jyoti Prasada was also a member of the Congress party, who was elected to various legislative and local body positions. Jitin's grandmother Pamela Prasad belonged the Royal Sikh family of Kapurthala.

Jitin's sister, Kumari Janhavi Prasada, is a documentary filmmaker and peace educator.

His great grandfather Shri Jwala Prasada was an Imperial Civil Service officer and great grandmother Purnima Devi was the niece of Rabindra Nath Tagore.

The Congress MP studied at the Doon School, Dehradun.

He completed his BCOM(Hons) from the prestigious Sri Ram College of Commerece, Delhi University, and his MBA from the Indian Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi.

In his early career stints, Jitin worked with DSP Meryll Lynch and the BPL Net.

He is a member on the Committee on Petitions, the Committee on Information Technology and Communications and the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The young MP has a knack for films, music and reading.

and has a taste for ''trying out different cuisines of the world'' and seeks recreation in interacting with friends and working on computer.

He is a member of the India Habitat Center, Delhi, and Boat House Club, Nainital, and likes partaking in horse riding and water sports like rafting, rowing, yatching, besides soccer.

Jitin seems to be a nature lover, who takes special interest in bird watching and jungle safari.

A widely travelled leader, Jitin has been to different countries such as Belgium, Germany, Singapore, the UK and the US.

UNI