scorecardresearch
Friday, Mar 29, 2024
Advertisement
Premium

BJP Guna MP KP Yadav: ‘Nothing like traditional seat anymore, these are days of pure democracy’

The 43-year-old switched loyalty to the BJP, lost an Assembly election, but emerged as a giant killer by defeating his former mentor Jyotiraditya Scindia by over 1.25 lakh votes from Guna.

kp yadav, bjp guna mp, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jyotiraditya Scindia guna seat, BJP, Guna elections, Guna Lok Sabha seat, KP Yadav, Jyotiraditya Scindia, madhya pradesh, lok sabha elections, india news, Indian express KP Yadav, BJP MP from Guna constituency

BJP MP from Guna Lok Sabha constituency, KP Yadav, used to be a representative of former union minister and Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia till early last year. The 43-year-old switched loyalty to the BJP, lost an Assembly election, but emerged as a giant killer by defeating his former mentor by over 1.25 lakh votes from Guna, a seat won by three members of Scindia family 14 times irrespective of their ideological affiliation. He speaks to MILIND GHATWAI about his victory. Excerpts:

At what point did you think you could defeat Scindia?

Immediately after the Assembly elections, the BJP started preparing to win all 29 Lok Sabha seats. Assembly level cluster teams were formed to collect feedback, to know what more needed to be done and where we were lacking in every parliamentary constituency. The Assembly results showed we were ahead by more than 16,000 votes in Guna. We were confident of victory even before the elections.

Advertisement

READ | Behind Jyotiraditya Scindia defeat: Dashed CM hope, local face and ‘nationalism’

No one from Scindia family had ever lost there, how did things change?

There is nothing like a traditional seat anymore. Ab toh prajatantra hai shuddha (These are days of pure democracy). Through social media even people in interior villages know what is happening in the region, country and the world.

What was the main factor behind the victory?

Festive offer

People wanted Modiji to become the Prime Minister again. They know how he has brought about development and enhanced country’s honour at the international level. The main reason was the wave (Modi wave).

How does it feel to defeat your former mentor and be known as a giant killer?

Advertisement

I would like people to know me by my work. Whatever has happened is all right. I worked hard for it to become my identity. There is nothing personal. Scindia has congratulated me and I have conveyed my thanks to him through someone. I will soon meet him and seek his guidance. He has been a four-time MP and is very senior to me. I will factor in his opinion in my works.

There is a perception that you were hurt by Priyadarshini Scindia’s dismissal of your candidature as someone who used to take selfies with Maharaj?

I don’t want to comment about any personal thing. I will work for the party and the nation. I won’t go into old matters and would rather focus on development.

First uploaded on: 29-05-2019 at 02:11 IST
Latest Comment
Post Comment
Read Comments
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
close