Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sachin Pilot: A tale of two contrasting fortunes

Hours after BJP's stellar show in the Hindi heartland, Jyotiraditya Scindia is being credited for Madhya Pradesh's landslide win while his once close friend Sachin Pilot has faded into oblivion for the time being after the Congress debacle in Rajasthan. Two youth icons, hailing from political families and once close to the Gandhis, have faced similar treatment at the hands of the Gandhis. Except, one chose to leave the party for good in search of greener pastures and the other, floundered and withered away by choosing to stick with the party.

The year 2020 was defining for both these young leaders. Both revolted, having faced humiliation at the hands of their seniors, often in public. Scindia broke away with other loyalists, ousting the Kamal Nath-led government and helping BJP's Shivraj Chouhan return to power. Soon after, he was rewarded with key Union Ministry posts and got to play a key role in engineering a BJP win in MP amid a whiff of anti-incumbency.

On the other hand, Pilot, after breaking away with Congress legislators, brought the Ashok Gehlot-led government to its knees. However, after meeting the Gandhis, Pilot returned to the party. What was his reward? He was dropped from the Deputy Chief Minister's post and was humiliated further by the then-CM Gehlot, who called him "useless" and "idle" among other expletives.

Impact in the 2023 Assembly Elections

Pilot's open fallout with Gehlot didn't help his party in the state. Congress had to pay a heavy price as all the Gujjar votes that Pilot had earlier commanded went to the BJP. Compared to the last assembly elections, Pilot's win margin from his stronghold in Tonk fell by over 29,475 votes. 
Out of 38 seats in eastern Rajasthan, where Gujjars hold a sway, Congress won only 14 seats. BJP, reaping benefits from the Pilot-Gehlot rivalry, won 38 out of the total 59 Assembly seats across 11 eastern Rajasthan districts. Earlier this, year Pilot's 125 km "Jan Sangharsh Padyatra" against corruption 
in the state, didn't help the image of his party either.

In contrast to Congress' dwindling fortunes in Rajasthan, Scindia gifted the key Chambal region, which is his family's bastion, to the BJP on a platter. The numbers are writ large, with the BJP winning 19 out of 33 seats compared to the seven seats it got in 2018. On the other hand, Congress has been reduced to only 15 seats from 26 in 2018.

While the future for Pilot in Congress is uncertain, Scindia is set for greater things and is one of the frontrunners for the CM post in MP.