In a dramatic political development, former senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia has joined BJP on Wednesday in the presence of BJP party president JP Nadda at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.

Addressing the media, the four-time MP said, “In my life, two dates were very important… First was when I lost my father (Madhav Rao Scindia) – September 30, 2001… it was a life-changing moment for me. And then it was March 10, 2020,  it was his 75th birth anniversary. “My respected father and in the last 18-19 years, whatever time I got we have done all that we could (for Congress).”

Scindia pointed out the flaws in the Congress party as he said, “Today’s Congress party is not what it used to be.” He went on to say that the dreams and aspirations he had for Madhya Pradesh after Congress won the 2018 Assembly elections have been shattered since issues like farmer loans and unemployment still persisted. “In the last 18 months, all my dreams have been shattered, promises to farmers have not been fulfilled. Mandsaur victims have not got justice… among poll, the promise was a monthly allowance which hasn’t been fulfilled.”

“I consider myself lucky that I have got a platform to serve the nation. thank PM Modi. Not once but twice, he has got a massive mandate from the public.” I believe nation’s future is secure in his hands,” says Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Scindia is likely to be rewarded with a Rajya Sabha nomination from Madhya Pradesh, and later, a Cabinet ministerial berth. Former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje welcomed her nephew to her party, “I admire your strength of character and courage. It’s good to be on the same team. Welcome to the BJP.”

If Rajmata Sahab was here today, she would be elated to see you put the #NationFirst.

I admire your strength of character and courage. It’s good to be on the same team.

Welcome to the BJP.@JM_Scindia pic.twitter.com/O1BU80R5By

— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) March 11, 2020

Congress has a wafer-thin majority in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly whose current effective strength is 228. If the resignations of the 22 MLAs are accepted, the strength of the Assembly will fall to 208. The magic number for retaining the majority then will be 105. The Congress, however, will be left with 94 seats while the BJP has 104 seats. The Congress has the support of four Independents, two BSP, and one SP MLA. Even with their support, Congress will fall sort of a majority, and it is anyway unclear if they will continue to support Congress or go with BJP

On Wednesday former Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at PM Modi for “destabilising” the Congress government and tweeted, “while you were busy destabilising an elected Congress Govt, you may have missed noticing the 35% crash in global oil prices.”

Hey @PMOIndia , while you were busy destabilising an elected Congress Govt, you may have missed noticing the 35% crash in global oil prices. Could you please pass on the benefit to Indians by slashing #petrol prices to under 60₹ per litre? Will help boost the stalled economy.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 11, 2020

Noting that the events of the day had been drawing themselves out for a year, Scindia, in his letter to party president Sonia Gandhi, said it was now best for him to look at a fresh start. “Having been a primary member of the Congress party for the last 18 years. It is now time for me to move on. I am tendering my resignation from the primary membership of the Congress and as you well know this is a path that has been drawing itself out over the last year,” Scindia wrote in the letter.

pic.twitter.com/DWSKdYO0jG

— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) March 10, 2020

The political drama in Madhya Pradesh just seems to have begun with senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia resigning from the party on Tuesday. The Kamal Nath led government in the state will now have to prove its majority as 22 MLAs of the Congress party resigned following Scindia’s footsteps.

Scindia, once considered a rising star of the party, has long been at loggerheads with Kamal Nath who belongs to the old guard. After narrowly winning the state Assembly elections in December 2018, Kamal Nath took over as chief minister. But trouble started brewing recently when Scindia’s supporters in the government were side-lined, and it appeared that his ambitions to be the state Congress president were also thwarted. It was also clear that the central leadership was not ready to listen to his grievances.

This weekend, Scindia and six ministers in the Kamal Nath Cabinet went to Bengaluru and became incommunicado. It then became clear that a rebellion was brewing in the party and Kamal Nath would lose the support of the six ministers as well as other MLAs loyal to Scindia.

Kamal Nath on Tuesday wrote to Governor Tandon seeking immediate removal of six ministers who belonged to Scindia’s camp. The outcome of the political drama being played out on Holi goes beyond Madhya Pradesh, which itself is important for both the BJP and the Congress. MP was one of the three major states where the Congress evicted BJP in the series of Assembly elections before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. With the imminent loss of Madhya Pradesh, the crisis within Congress leadership is now out.