Even as the countdown for the 2023 assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan has begun, Yashodhara Raje Scindia and Vasundhara Raje Scindia are facing an uncertain future. Yashodhara, currently a minister in Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s ministry, has already opted out of electoral politics due to her precarious post-COVID health. However, she has not resigned as a minister and official sources maintain that, for the past six months, she has regularly attended all meetings, gone on tours, and carried out routine work. Vasundhara, who had to overcome all odds to become the first woman chief minister of Rajasthan, is now engaged in a grim battle for survival. She is not being projected as a chief ministerial nominee and many of her supporters have failed to secure party tickets. Informed sources suggest that Vasundhara is eager to settle scores with her internal detractors, but a likely landslide victory for the BJP, as indicated by some pollsters and survey agencies, points to her potential political irrelevance. The presence of Jyotiraditya Scindia as a Union Minister has effectively limited Vasundhara’s options for a role in national politics outside of Rajasthan. Sources close to both Yashodhara and Vasundhara express a sense of hurt and dejection, highlighting how, as the daughters of ‘Amma Saheb,’ Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia, they remained loyal and committed to the BJP. Vijayaraje was a founding member of the BJP in 1980 and an iconic figure of the BJP’s earlier incarnation as the Bharatiya Jan Sangh. Despite being a towering figure, she did not seek any ministerial or gubernatorial assignments throughout her six-decade-long political career. Rajmata was also a major fundraiser for the Jan Sangh and BJP. In fact, Rajmata’s entry into the Madhya Pradesh Assembly in 1967 paved the way for a significant political turn of events when 36 Congress MLAs defected to the opposition ranks, with Rajmata perceived as the mastermind behind Mishra’s ouster as chief minister. For the first time in central India, a non-Congress party, the Samyukta Vidhayak Dal (SVD), formed the government. Rajmata, however, declined the position of chief minister and did not provide any reasons for her decision. In the 1980s, when asked to lead the BJP, she informed Advani, as recounted in the veteran’s book My Country, My Life, that she had been advised against accepting any public role by the chief priest of Pitambara Peeth, Pujyapad Swamiji Maharaj. Under her leadership, the Jana Sangh defied the Indira wave in the 1971 Lok Sabha polls, a period when the Congress secured 352 seats in the House. The Jana Sangh won three seats in the Gwalior region—Rajmata from Bhind, her son Madhavrao from Guna, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee from Gwalior. During that era, Congress policies, programmes and leadership underwent radicalisation. Indira displayed extraordinary political acumen and a keen sense of realpolitik by setting one Congress leader against another, delivering a significant blow to conservatives during the nationalisation of banks and the abolition of the privy purse. The privy purse was the payment made to the 565 royal families of princely states as part of their agreement to integrate with India in 1947. The Nizam of Hyderabad was the largest recipient, receiving a tax-free pension of over Rs 80 million a year. The Scindias used to receive Rs 25 lakh a year. For the first time, the Scindias, along with other royals, had to file income tax returns. Rajmata, in her memoirs, wrote about this sudden change in status. She said, “Money was never a consideration. When you are young, you don’t think too much about poverty or other people. So, I used to enjoy myself. For example, if I went shopping, I’d buy saris by the dozen or jewellery— not just one item, but six to ten pieces at a time.” However, this changed after the abolition of the privy purses, and the Scindias had to think twice before making expensive purchases. Blessed with the ability to laugh at herself amid adversity, the Rajmata would often quip, “Now we don’t buy; we are the sellers.” The Gwalior royals possessed dozens of elephants that were used for ceremonial occasions. The Rajmata was initially reluctant to sell them, but the upkeep of the lavish household became challenging. Moreover, the Rajmata had irked Indira by supporting newspaper magnate Ramnath Goenka, ensuring his electoral victory in Vidisha, a part of the former Gwalior state. Contesting as an Independent and considered an outsider, Goenka’s win was particularly remarkable as it occurred amidst the 1971 Indira wave. The Rajmata played a pivotal role in Goenka’s campaign, as his newspaper, The Indian Express, was known for its anti-establishment stance. The situation took a dramatic turn with the onset of the 1975 emergency when the Scindias became Indira’s target. Taroon Coomar Bhaduri, an author and journalist, who served as the state correspondent for The Statesman in Bhopal at the time, revealed in his book, Off the Records, that upon learning about the Rajmata’s comfortable detention during the Emergency, Indira was incensed and ordered her transfer to Delhi’s Tihar Jail. Simultaneously, income tax officials and several other agencies carried out raids at the Jai Vilas Palace, the Scindias’ residence in Gwalior. A report published in India Today on 30 September, 1991, claimed that during the 1975 Emergency raid, tax authorities uncovered 53 quintals of silver articles and trunkfuls of jewellery at Jai Vilas Palace. The Scindias faced charges related to economic offenses, including gold smuggling, allegations vehemently contested by the Rajmata and her daughters. The tax officials not only discovered silver and jewellry but also confiscated notations for a new raga composed by Ustad Allauddin Khan and named after Vijayaraje, which they initially believed to be some kind of secret code. The maestro had created this raga, possibly within the first five years of Vijayaraje’s marriage to Jiwajirao, as a gesture of gratitude for her sponsorship of a surgery in Gwalior. While housed in Tihar’s ward No. 3, the Rajmata found a way to interact with Nanaji Deshmukh, a Jana Sangh veteran who was incarcerated alongside Arun Jaitley, George Fernandes, Parkash Singh Badal, Choudhury Charan Singh, Lala Hansraj and others under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA). The Rajmata’s doctor had recommended yoga, and in Tihar, Deshmukh conducted yoga classes in the men’s ward. Jail authorities allowed him to teach yoga to the Rajmata as well. In their best-seller, Black Warrant [Roli Books], jailer Sunil Gupta recounted to co-author Sunetra Choudhury, “I do not know how much yoga they did, but these deliberations were the seeds of the Janata Party.” Gupta, who was a young officer at the time, found it fascinating to witness how Badal acted as a bridge between leaders of the Hindu right and Indian communists, creating a broad platform against Indira. Badal initially brought these ideologically opposing figures together through games like carom, and as rapport developed, plans to overthrow the Indira regime through democratic means took shape. Ultimately, the opposition successfully toppled the Indira regime after the emergency was lifted. Despite having such a significant Rajmata legacy and a strong political connection, the marginalisation of Yashodhara and Vasundhara is evident. The writer is a Visiting Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation. A well-known political analyst, he has written several books, including ‘24 Akbar Road’ and ‘Sonia: A Biography’. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Despite having such a significant Rajmata legacy and a strong political connection, the marginalisation of Yashodhara and Vasundhara is evident
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