Scindia with 17 MLAs set to back BJP as Congress ups efforts to woo him back

New Delhi, Mar 10: Jyotiraditya Scindia, who has shaken the Congress ship in Madhya Pradesh has met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The move comes in the wake of 17 MLAs of the Congress being carted away to Bengaluru, putting the Kamal Nath government at risk. There is also talk that Scindia along with the 17 MLAs may back the BJP in Madhya Pradesh. Meanwhile the 17 MLAs are expected to leave Bengaluru in short while from now. They are likely to reach New Delhi, sources have said.

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.

After the dramatic developments, MP Forest Minister Umang Singhar told PTI, "We have resigned. Now it is up to the chief minister to take a call."

The minister said they have requested the chief minister to reconstitute the cabinet.

Nath had cut short his Delhi visit and rushed to Bhopal where he had called the urgent cabinet meeting at around 10 pm after a faction led by senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia who, along with at least 17 legislators, went incommunicado, sparking intense speculation about the fate of his government.

Many of these legislators, including ministers, had flown to Bengaluru earlier in the day.
Scindia, however, kept his cards close to his chest and there was no word from him on the developments.

The BJP, meanwhile, called a meeting of its MLAs on Tuesday, where sources said Shivraj Singh Chouhan may be elected as the leader of the legislature party.

Trouble has been brewing in the Congress ahead of Rajya Sabha polls as it had last week accused the BJP of trying to topple its government after 10 MLAs of the ruling party and those of its allies travelled to Haryana, though the BJP had denied the charge.

Of them, eight had come back and many of them wanted ministerial berths, according to sources. However, two Congress MLAs have not yet returned.

Scindia and Nath have fallen out over the post of the state Congress president, which is currently held by the chief minister.