In electoral race after 3 decades, Digvijaya hopes his former turf will carry him past finish line

Even before the official Congress list had come out, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh had announced that he would be the party’s Lok Sabha candidate from Rajgarh, marking his return to the seat after three decades.

His announcement came after weeks of allegations by the BJP that senior Congress leaders were shying away from fighting the Lok Sabha elections.

Challenging the BJP’s allegations, Digvijaya said: “I am ready to even contest against Narendra Modi or Shivraj Singh Chouhan (former Madhya Pradesh CM who has been fielded by the BJP for the Lok Sabha polls). But the party has asked me to contest from here (Rajgarh), so I will fight from here.”

While Digvijaya has himself been out of electoral politics in the state since his CM spell from 1993 to 2003, he has always been a prime target for the BJP, including in the recent Assembly elections. The reason is the veteran’s hold on the Congress unit in the state, which he has covered across its length and breadth on foot as part of his several yatras.

Digvijaya has also never shied away from taking the BJP head-on over Hindutva and other controversial issues, even if treading on own leadership’s toes at times.

During the recent Assembly elections, the Congress delegated Digvijaya the responsibility for 66 Assembly seats where the party was weak. And, to be fair, the Congress looked very much in the race – till it lost.

Digvijaya’s supporters have since been claiming that he didn’t get the backing in terms of resources that he needed, with rival-turned-comrade Kamal Nath running the elections as a “one-man show”.

However, as he enters the poll ring himself from Rajgarh this time, Digvijaya will not have any of these fig leaves. He knows the constituency well,