Will Jyotiraditya get the bungalow where father Madhavrao lived?

NEW DELHI: As former Congress minister and Rahul Gandhi’s trusted lieutenant Jyotiraditya Scindia switched over to greener pastures in BJP, Lutyens’ Delhi is abuzz with speculation whether the sprawling 27 Safdarjung Road bungalow is the deal sweetener.

Many believe that the Scindia family scion could reclaim the Type-VIII bungalow. After all, it was allotted to his father Madhavrao Scindia in the 1980s after he joined the Rajiv Gandhi Cabinet. For Jyotiraditya, the bungalow holds a special place — it was here that his father bid final adieu. The bungalow remained the home of Scindias even after Madhavrao’s death and later when Jyotiraditya joined Manmohan Singh’s council of ministers.

Congress old timers and Madhya Pradesh leaders reminisce how the address had become almost synonymous with the Scindias. It was here that Madhavrao entertained his guests and held his ‘durbar’.


Later, Jyotiraditya took over and followed suit.

After losing the Lok Sabha elections from Guna, Jyotiraditya had to give up the bungalow. Though he found a new home in Anand Lok, many from the state would sometimes end up at 27 Safdarjung Road, which was being readied for human resource development minister Ramesh Pokhriyal.

According to sources, the BJP brass would not be averse to allotting the bungalow to Jyotiraditya, who would soon be elected to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh on a BJP ticket.

Even the directorate of estates rulebook for Type-VIII houses would favour such an allotment. Type-VIII houses, which have seven rooms with servant quarters, can be allotted to serving ministers, judicial authorities or former ministers and Rajya Sabha MPs.

The final call will be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Accommodation headed by home minister Amit Shah. If 27 Safdarjung Road is allotted again to Scindia, it would not be a first case. There is a precedent of making a Cabinet minister vacate his bungalow to make way for another elite occupant.

During Modi government’s first term, Mahesh Sharma was allotted the sprawling 10 Rajaji Marg bungalow, which was home to former president APJ Abdul Kalam till his death. However, Sharma had to shift out as the bungalow was chosen to house President Pranab Mukherjee after his retirement. Sharma shifted out to 10 Akbar Road but had to give it up when Ram Nath Kovind became BJP’s presidential nominee in June 2017. This was done in a matter of months.