With his bold stance on Article 370, Jyotiraditya Scindia has staked claim for the throne in Congress party

It is well known that after the embarrassing drubbing in 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress has been facing an acute leadership crisis. The leadership crisis has been further exposed by the way Congress leaders took contradictory stands on the issue of abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India. The Congress leadership has taken a very controversial stance against abrogation of Article 370, with Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury even suggesting that Kashmir is not India’s internal issue. He said, “You say that it is an internal matter, but it is being monitored since 1948 by the UN, is that an internal matter? We signed the Shimla Agreement and Lahore Declaration, was that an internal matter or bilateral?”, on the floor of the Lok Sabha. However, much to the dismay of the grand old Congress party, several leaders like Janardan Dwivedi, Milind Deora, Bhubaneswar Kalita and Deepender Hooda have boldly taken a contradictory stance and supported the Modi government’s move in Jammu and Kashmir. Joining these leaders in dissent against the Congress is senior Congress leader and close aide of Rahul Gandhi Jyotiraditya Scindia, who supported Modi government’s move to abrogate article 370 and bifurcate the state into two union territories. This has come as a major snub to the Gandhis.

While Rahul Gandhi opposed the move in a highly divisive statement, at the forefront of those Congress leaders who have supported the abrogation of Article 370, is senior party leader, Jyotiraditya Scindia. He has tweeted in support of Modi government’s move to abrogate Article 370 and bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories. He tweeted, “I support the move on #JammuAndKashmir & #Ladakh and its full integration into union of India. Would have been better if constitutional process had been followed. No questions could have been raised then. Nevertheless, this is in our country’s interest and I support this.”

https://twitter.com/JM_Scindia/status/1158729410507182080

 Jyotiraditya Scindia’s stance clearly militates against the stand taken by the Congress inside the Parliament. In fact, Jyotiraditya Scindia’s stance is unambiguously in favour of the step taken by the Modi government on Kashmir and Article 370.

With this, Jyotiraditya Scindia might have just staked claim for party leadership. He has not only shown that he has what it takes to boldly dissent in the Congress against the will of the Gandhis, which is still seen as the first family of the grand old party, but he has also shown that when it comes to national interest, he can abandon ideological and political considerations. By defying the Gandhis and showing his nationalistic spirit at the same time, he has made a strong case for becoming Congress party president at a time when the party is leaderless. And this should not be seen as merely speculative. Only recently, Tharoor had said that the Congress Working Committee (CWC) should appoint an interim president. Deora suggested the names of Sachin Pilot and Jyotiraditya Scindia. Therefore, Jyotiraditya Scindia’s name has already been doing the rounds. Last month, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh had tweeted, “After an unfortunate decision of Rahul Gandhi to quit, hope to see another dynamic youth leader as Congress president to galvanise party. Urge CWC to take note of young India’s need for a young leader, aligned to aspirations of its large youth population and with grassroots connect.” Though he had not taken any names party leaders said Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and AICC general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh West Jyotiraditya Scindia are the obvious choices.

It is clear that ever since Rahul Gandhi resigned as the Congress president, the party is literally working without a proper president and only under the shadow of the Gandhis. The CWC is yet to accept Rahul Gandhi’s leadership leaving the grand old party in an uncomfortable position. Leaders within the Congress have already insisted on new, young leadership which has made Scindia a top choice. And now with his bold stand on abrogation of Article 370, Jyotiraditya Scindia has emerged as a viable candidate for Congress party president.