The Kamal Nath Government in Madhya Pradesh is facing a huge crisis as Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned from the primary membership of the party after serving it for 18 years.
18 MLAs of the party, who are Scindia's supporters, have also resigned from the party in an apparent indication that the 15-month-old State Government is about to sink.
Before announcing his resignation in Twitter, Scindia met Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Home Minister Amit Shah. This meeting created speculations that the Congress leader will join the BJP soon.
Elections to three Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh were to be held soon. Scindia has been looking for a nomination from one of the seats.
However, a section in the Congress was not in favour of giving Rajya Sabha tickets to those who failed in Lok Sabha elections. Scindia's decision is learnt to have taken after the Congress high command's communication to him that he will not be sent to Rajya Sabha. The Congress said in a statement that it expelled Scindia from the party for anti party activities.
Madhya Pradesh Assembly numbers
If the resignation of Congress MLAs are accepted, the majority mark will be 106 in the 230-member Assembly. The Congress will have 97 MLAs and the BJP, with 107 MLAs, can form a Government. SP has one and BSP has two MLAs in the Assembly with four independents.
Reports are there that the BJP will send Scindia to Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh, and may even offer a berth in the Narendra Modi Cabinet. Scindia wrote in his resignation letter submitted to Congress president Sonia Gandhi that "this is a path that has been drawing itself out over the last year".
"While my aim and purpose remain the same as it has always been from the very beginning, to serve the people of my state and country, I believe am unable to do this anymore within this party," he said.