Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia's move to drop his party's name from his Twitter bio has set political circles in Madhya Pradesh abuzz with speculation that he was unhappy in the organisation.
The Congress general secretary has changed his Twitter handle status to a simple "public servant and cricket enthusiast".
Social media went into overdrive with many wondering whether Scindia was planning to quit the Congress and others highlighting the reported differences between him and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath.
However, Scindia, who lost the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from family stronghold Guna, dismissed speculation about his Twitter bio not including his links to the party as "baseless".
"I had changed it (the Twitter bio) a month ago... I got feedback that it is a long bio-data and should be made short. All rumours around it are baseless," Scindia told PTI in New Delhi.
However, Scindia's clarification did little do stop speculation about his move in a state where the 11-month-old Congress government is precariously placed in terms of numbers in the assembly.
Scindia (47) had lost the chief ministership to Nath last year and concerted efforts by his supporters to push his name for the post of state Congress president have so far borne no fruit.
While the ruling Congress said there was nothing wrong in Scindia changing his Twitter bio, the opposition BJP claimed the move shows the former Union minister was "unhappy" and feeling "sidelined" in the party.
MP Congress spokesperson Narendra Saluja sought to downplay the issue, claiming even former chief minister and BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan had recently made edits to his Twitter bio.
"What is wrong with (Scindia) changing his Twitter handle status? He is not Guna MP now. Why is a buzz being created now when he changed his status a month ago.
"Scindiaji is a true and dedicated Congressman who will never leave the party," Saluja asserted.
However, state BJP spokesperson Deepak Vijayvargiya claimed the change in status shows all was not well between Scindia and the ruling party.
"Scindia had been often expressing his displeasure publicly over the state governments functioning. He is not getting on well with the Congress.
"He and his supporters are being sidelined in the MP Congress. He lost chief ministership to Kamal Nath and is not being made state unit chief either," Vijayvargiya said.
Vijayvargiya went on to add that Scindia's aunts, former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje and ex-MP minister Yashodhara Raje, were highly respected figures in the BJP.
He pointed out that the former Guna MP's grandmother, Vijayaraje Scindia, was associated with the Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS) and also its successor the BJP.
His father, Madhavrao Scindia, was in the BJS before joining the Congress, Vijayvargiya said.
In the 230-member Madhya Pradesh assembly, the Congress has 115 MLAs (one short of simple majority mark) and its government is propped up by the two BSP, one SP and four Independent legislators.
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