He will win, say supporters of the Gwalior royal.

In Guna, a constituency of a little over 11 lakh voters where the name Scindia arouses instant veneration, victory is perhaps not in doubt for the Harvard-educated 38-year-old.

What is being talked about rather is the tougher-than-expected fight the Congress candidate is facing from workers of the party founded by Uma, the village girl his late grandmother Vijaya Raje Scindia had picked, impressed by her knowledge of the epics and leadership potential.

Uma, who has declared her support for L.K. Advani, hasn't campaigned here personally. But the local BJP in Shivpuri, a town in Guna, has been buoyed by the efforts being put in by cadres of the Bharatiya Jana Shakti Party, the outfit the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister floated after her expulsion from the BJP for rebelling against the brass.

"It's not a question of how much influence Umaji's party has here. The very efforts of her party workers show we are giving a fight," says Om Prakash Gupta, BJP candidate Narottam Mishra's campaign in-charge.

While Guna legislator Rajendra Singh Saluja belongs to Uma's party, BJP big guns like party chief Rajnath Singh, M. Venkaiah Naidu, Sushma Swaraj and chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan have all campaigned for Mishra, a five-time MLA.

No one here in Guna -- where Jyotiraditya's late father Madhavrao Scindia made it a habit of winning -- dares to call it a close fight. But as he leaves Bombay Kothi, the summer palace of the Scindias, Jyotiraditya says "no one takes elections lightly".

Source: The Telegraph Uma can't rob Scindia of sleep