Jyotiraditya Scindia is among the youngest in the Parliament of India. Recently elected to the Lok Sabha (February 2002) from his father the late Madhavrao Scindia's constituency Guna in Madhya Pradesh, Jyotiraditya was initiated into his new career with an almost unprecedented lead of votes – a lead of more than 450,000. This is Jyotiraditya’s opportunity to honour the trust, confidence, and faith placed in him by the electorate of Guna. His father Madhavrao Scindia died in an air crash five months ago last September and the Parliamentary seat from Guna fell vacant. Jyotiraditya was a natural choice for the seat not because of any dynastic claim – but for the fact that he knew his constituency well, having managed his father’s election campaigns and also having travelled with him extensively within the realms of his constituency. He was aware of the issues that remain high on the electoral agenda and most importantly, displayed a sincere willingness to serve his people well.

Madhavrao Scindia, the erstwhile ruler of Gwalior was a nine-times elected Parliamentarian. His son Jyotiraditya was only 13 years old when he first campaigned for his father . Today, the 31 year old son has inherited the mantle of Head of the Scindia family but he did not inherit the seat in Parliament – he won it through fair election. What he has inherited is the political goodwill left him by his father.

Added to the political goodwill are Jyotiraditya’s managerial skills he learnt at Harvard and Stanford, and the experience he gained working as an investment banker for some of the finest financial institutions – Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. He also gained some development experience with the UN economic Development Cell. His multinational experience makes him a hard taskmaster. Not one to tolerate sloth and non-performance, he admits, "What makes me angry is when I see that people aren’t working but just hanging around".

Rashmi Saxena, writing in The Week says, " He is known to be meticulous and focused. His priority now is to consolidate his support in Guna. He is mature enough to know that his father's name and sympathy wave can see him only through one election.