In what shows that the Congress leadership might be planning on making Digvijay Singh the sacrificial lamb, it has been reported that Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath “appealed” to the senior Congress leader, Digvijay Singh to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from the “toughest seat” in the state of Madhya Pradesh. This might just prove to be disastrous for the political career of the senior Congress leader. The popularity of the Congress has already fallen to a nadir in the state and therefore fielding Digvijay Singh from the “toughest seat” amounts to virtually writing off the veteran Congress leader’s career.
While talking to reporters in Chhindwara during a two-day tour to kick off the grand old party’s election campaign in the state of Madhya Pradesh, CM Kamal Nath said that there were 3-4 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh where the Congress has been shunned for the last 30-35 years. He then went on to say, “I have urged Digvijay Singh to choose the toughest seat in MP if he wants to contest the upcoming LS polls. However, the decision to pick the seat rests on him.”
According to Congress sources, the Madhya Pradesh chief minister might have dropped hints that he wanted Digvijay to contest from Bhopal. The Congress had won from the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat for the last time in 1984 when the former President Late Shankar Dayal Sharma won from the constituency. Therefore, the Congress leadership seems eager to field Singh from a BJP bastion. It has also been reported that there are speculations within the Congress circles that the Indore Lok Sabha seat was also be considered for Digvijay Singh. The Congress has been unable to win from the Indore Lok Sabha seat since 1989. Therefore, it is also a BJP stronghold and the Congress does not enjoy much popularity in the Indore constituency. Digvijay Singh has reportedly accepted the challenge to contest form a tough seat. Jagran reported that Singh has accepted the challenge given by the senior party leadership. It seems that he is left with no choice but to contest from a tough seat.
The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh is already battling a growing sense of anti-incumbency and dissatisfaction among the voters. Given the shoddy manner in which the state government has proceeded with the farm loan waiver, poor governance and deteriorating law and order situation in the state, the Congress is staring at a rout in the state. In fact, Times Now-VMR survey suggests, BJP will win 23 out of the total 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Numbers by India TV-CNX Opinion poll also indicate 23 seats for BJP out of 29; ABP-Voter Survey also gave similar indication of BJP ahead on 23 seats. The decision to field party veteran Digvijay Singh from Madhya Pradesh at such a critical juncture therefore implies that the Congress is all set to sacrifice the rest of Singh’s political career.