New Delhi, March 11 Eighteen months is a really long time in politics. The party that has time and again hit out at the culture of royalty with a specific slogan in the run-up to 2018 Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, now had to eat its words as the BJP embraced former Congressman and Gwalior's 'Maharaj' Jyotiraditya Scindia.
As soon as Scindia joined BJP in presence of party President J.P. Nadda, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is tipped to come back to power, tweeted in Hindi: "Swagat hai Maharaj, saath hai Shivraj (Welcome Maharaj, you have Shivraj with you)".
However, this is in complete contrast to the slogan BJP coined in 2018 when the state went to polls.
"Humare neta Shivraj, Maaf karo Maharaj (Shivraj is our leader, excuse us Maharaj)", was the BJP's slogan that was particularly aimed to hit out at Scindia who hails from the Gwalior royal family.
Locals still address Jyotiraditya as "Maharaj ji". Scindia's grandmother Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia was from the family of the last rulers of Gwalior during the British Raj.
Jyotiraditya Scindia's royal connection was not referred to by Chouhan alone in a laudatory way. Soon after he tweeted his resignation from the Congress, Yashodhara Raje Scindia, Jyotiraditya's aunt and the youngest daughter of Vijayaraje Scindia, said, "He must have taken the decision keeping the face of Rajmata in mind."
Even BJP chief J.P. Nadda referred to Vijayaraje Scindia while welcoming Jyotiraditya to the saffron fold.
So when Chouhan addressed him as "Maharaj", the irony wasn't lost.
( With inputs from IANS )