File photo of Kamal Nath (R) with Jyotiraditya Scindia

BHOPAL: Amid the ongoing political drama over the alleged poaching attempt to destablise the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh, a state minister on Friday said the ruling dispensation will face a crisis if it "neglects and disrespects" senior party leader Jyotiraditya Scindia .

The statement of labour minister Mahendra Singh Sisodiya, a staunch supporter of Scindia, comes at a time when the Kamal Nath government is faced with an alleged poaching bid ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls scheduled later this month.

"BJP is doing this politics of pressure. But I would definitely say that Kamal Nath ji's government will face a crisis only when it neglects and disrespects our leader Jyotiraditya Scindia. Black clouds will certainly descend on the Madhya Pradesh government then," Sisodiya said in a video statement sent from Guna, about 180 km from the state capital.

Scindia had lost last year's Lok Sabha elections from Guna constituency, considered the pocket borough of his family.

Since then, Scindia's supporters have been demanding that he be appointed as the state Congress chief. They have also been urging the party leadership to nominate him to the Rajya Sabha, as three seats of the Upper House of Parliament from the state are going to be vacated in April this year.

One of these seats is currently represented by party veteran Digvijaya Singh , while two others by the BJP.

Polling for the Rajya Sabha elections is scheduled on March 26.

Scindia has often taken on the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh, a move considered as a result of friction within the state unit.

He had last month threatened to take to the streets if the Madhya Pradesh government led by his party failed to meet the demands of protesting guest teachers. Chief minister Kamal Nath had later virtually dared him to do so.

On Tuesday, in a late-night political drama in the state, the Congress claimed that the opposition BJP took eight MLAs to a hotel in Haryana as part of a conspiracy to topple the Kamal Nath-led government.

On Thursday morning, the Congress held a press conference in New Delhi, in which it claimed that the BJP "abducted 14 MLAs" to bring down its government in Madhya Pradesh.

However, the BJP attributed the entire political drama to the internal bickering of the Congress, saying that the saffron party has nothing to do with this.

