Police trying to disperse BJP and Congress activists during a scuffle in between two groups at Raja Bhoj airport in Bhopal on Friday (ANI)

BHOPAL: The MP political drama may have more twists and turns ahead. Bhopal’s Raja Bhoj airport was the stage for one such scene in the power play on Friday when Congress and BJP workers confronted each other amid suspense over the arrival of rebel Congress MLAs of the Scindia faction from Bengaluru.

After seven hours of yes and no, it finally became evident that the 22 breakaway MLAs won’t be arriving. They had reportedly gone back from Bengaluru airport to the resort where they have been holed up since March 9.

But by then, BJP and Congress workers had nearly come to blows at the airport, forcing police to clamp section 144, deploy STF and remove both groups from the premises.

About 20km away, at the assembly, Speaker NP Prajapati waited for these MLAs. Six of the rebel Congress MLAs had been given notices to present themselves before the Speaker and clarify that they had not resigned under duress. After waiting for three hours, the Speaker left, saying he would go by rules and given them another date.

In the morning, word suddenly got around that 22 Congress MLAs would be arriving from Bengaluru at 11am. Mediapersons scrambled to the airport and found two buses duly parked there, with a couple of state BJP leaders flitting in and out. One of them said he had come to pick up some relatives. “A busload of them?” reporters asked. Another said he had come to pick up teerth yatris.

Soon, a group of around 50 BJP workers arrived, followed by a Congress crowd that outnumbered the saffron brigade three to one. They went eyeball to eyeball. Slogans was raised, and the two sides came uncomfortably close to each other multiple times.

Police had a hard time keeping the two sides at bay. DIG Irshad Wali then took charge and separated the rival groups. The administration imposed section 144 to ban large gatherings. The two sides dispersed, but the buses stood there. So did journalists.

After seven hours of suspense, it turned out that the Bhopal trip was cancelled and they could be flown to Delhi.

Sources said BJP MLAs Ramakant Bhargava, Arvind Bhadoria and rebel Congress MLAs Suresh Dhakad, Jaswant Jatav, Imarti Devi, Manoj Chaudhary, Aindal Singh Kansana and Raksha Sironia were to arrive in Bhopal in a chartered plane. In another special flight, former BJP minister Umashankar Gupta, and Congress MLAs Tulsi Silawat, Govind Singh Rajput, Pradyumn Singh Tomar, Prabhuram Chaudhary, Rajyawardhan Singh Dattigaon, Mahendra Singh Sisodia and Kamlesh Jatav were to arrive. Three others — Punit Sharma, Mohan Singh and Raksha’s husband Santram — were to come in one of these two flights, said sources.

“I was asked to pick up all 19 MLAs at the airport on their arrival from Bengaluru. However, I am leaving the airport after reports that their arrival has been postponed,” said a senior BJP state functionary, adding that 19 legislators had arrived at Bengaluru airport but returned to the resort.

The Speaker had asked six rebel MLAs to appear on Friday, seven on Saturday and the remaining nine on Sunday. However, all 19 MLAs had sought time to appear before the Speaker on Friday, say sources.

Speaker Prajapati and BJP leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Narendra Singh Tomar kept waiting at Vidhan Sabha for the MLAs but they didn’t turn up.

Piqued by the uncertainty, Speaker Prajapati postponed the meeting. “I had given time to six MLAs to present themselves and clarify their stand. However, they did not turn up due to reasons best known to them. I kept waiting for three hours but nobody appeared. I will wait for the other seven MLAs tomorrow. Those who failed to reach on time will be given another date. I am bound by rules and will work as per established procedures,” Prajapati told reporters on Friday.

