Jyotiraditya Scindia resorts to dinner diplomacy in MP

Amid the political uncertainty in Karnataka and the melt-down of the party in Goa, senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia Thursday met Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath here over lunch, and also dined with MLAs of Congress and its allies. While the JD(S)-Congress government in Karnataka is teetering after resignations of several MLAs, in Goa two- thirds of Congress MLAs have joined the BJP.

In Madhya Pradesh, the Nath-led Congress government is holding onto a wafer-thin majority. It was not known how many MLAs had dinner with Scindia at a venue in the posh Char Imli area here.

It is speculated that Scindia, known to be very close to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, met the legislators in a bid to feel their pulses in the wake of developments in Karnataka and Goa. The dinner had been organized by Madhya Pradesh health minister Tulsi Selawat, who is considered to be a Scindia confidante.

The BJP, in May, had demanded that Governor convene a special session for floor test after the saffron party won 28 out of 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh. In the Assembly polls last year, the Congress won 114 of the state's 230 seats, two short of the majority mark of 116. The BSP, having two MLAs, and Samajwadi Party, which has one, are supporting the Congress along with four Independents.