Scindia quits: When the whisper campaign got the better of the whisper

New Delhi, Mar 11: A few months back, one would not have expected that Jyotiraditya Scindia would quit the Congress. After all it was assumed that he was very close to Rahul Gandhi.

He was also put in charge of Uttar Pradesh along with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. One would have seen several times on television, him whispering to Rahul Gandhi in Parliament. He would be telling Rahul about what to say during a debate.

This however did not go down too well with the rest of the Congress members, who always would the Gandhis to be on the look out. There would always be a whisper campaign as to how Scindia would become a threat to Rahul Gandhi. Ultimately the whisper campaign got the better of the whisper.

Scindia, according to sources was feeling sidelined and also found the leadership un-inspiring. His has expressed clearly his feelings in the letter. He says, "while my aim and purpose remains the same as it has always been from the very beginning. to serve the people of my state and country, I believe I am unable to do this anymore with this party."

Further reports say that the Congress had planned to defeat him in the Rajya Sabha elections and this was the last straw.

After securing 114 seats, the Congress came to power in 2018. The House has 230 members. However the current strength has been reduced to 228. The Congress had gone on to form the government with the support of 121 MLAs, which included four independents, 2 BSP and 1 SP MLA.

Meanwhile the Congress continued to make efforts to woo Scindia back. However as of now, it appears as though Scindia has not relented.

If the 17 MLAs stick to their decision then the strength of the Congress would come down to 104. In the 228 member House, a party needs 115 seats.

The BJP on the other hand has 107 MLAs. It needs 8 more MLAs to hit the majority mark. If the rebels extend support to the BJP, then the party will have 124 MLAs.