Vijayvargiya may not contest elections to make way for son

However,the Indore-based politician took everybody by surprise Thursday when he tweeted his wish to opt out of the election insisting that he would like to work behind the scene and calling the decision “a birthday gift” to his son Akash.

The 56-year-old said his family was overwhelmed by Akash’s popularity among youth,who had come in thousands to bring in his birthday last night at midnight. “I kept thinking through the night that I should move out of his way,” Vijayvargiya said.

“I am neither retiring from politics nor am I scared of anybody,” he told The Indian Express and reiterated that he could contest and win from Guna and any other seat in Indore by a margin of at least 25,000 votes or quit politics.

“It’s not necessary that the party will give ticket to my son or even consider my own decision to opt out,” said the minister whose lessons in morality,especially for women,often hit headlines just as his defence of figures like spiritual guru Asaram Bapu and Hindu radical Pragya Singh Thakur.

Scindia backs Rahul for PM

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Congress Campaign Committee chairman Jyotiraditya Scindia joined Thursday the growing chorus of party leaders who think the country will progress with Rahul Gandhi at the helm. “If Rahul Gandhi leads the country all sections will benefit because he thinks about the nation and the poor,” he told reporters in Bhopal before leaving for Dhar,where the Congress held a rally to protest the recent attack on a vehicle carrying AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh and Leader of Opposition Ajay Singh. About the charge that the Congress insulted tribals by elevating him in place of PCC chief Kantilal Bhuria,Scindia said the BJP was trying to create differences but would not succeed. “We are two sides of the same coin,’’ he said. ENS