Raghunandan Singh Tomar, who retired as deputy director of industries in the state government, believes the Scindias looked after their people when they ruled Gwalior.
"They were good as kings and now they are good as MPs," he says.
He regrets that the state government has delayed the implementation of projects approved by the Centre.
"Madhavrao was popular both as a Maharaj, and as an MP. His son is very cordial to the people. He is very sincere and committed in the manner in which he does things for the people. This will serve him well. But the legacy of royalty will end with Jyotiraditya. His son will be called Scindiasahib, not Maharaj," he observes.
A local cycle shop owner in Shivpuri has a different take on the issue. "The MLAs and MP are good at making promises. They don't do any work. The MP blames the state government for everything and the MLAs says the central government is not giving funds for their work. The end product is that the people are fooled. We remain fools," he says, refusing to give his name.
The BJP is living in a fool's paradise, a senior citizen tells rediff.com, speaking on condition that he would not be identified for this feature. "Power cuts and lack of drinking water have made the people very angry with them," he says, adding, "They think they will win 27 out of the 29 Lok Sabha seats (in Madhya Pradesh). They are wrong. They will win only 20 seats. The Congress will win 10 seats this time."
Another local pundit declares, "Religious and caste issues determine the winners here. Count the number of Tomars, members of the backward castes, scheduled castes etc and that will give you a better idea about who will win."
"People vote for the Maharaj because of nostalgia," he says. "It is better to have our Maharaj at the helm than someone who will only be a MP."
Image: Raghunandan Singh Tomar believes the Scindias looked after their people when they ruled Gwalior
Also see: Sensing Muslim anger | India Votes 2009
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