BHOPAL, MARCH 14: Within a fortnight of losing the electoral battle in Hoshangabad, Arjun Singh has emerged as the main power centre in Madhya Pradesh. This is an immediate fallout of Sonia Gandhi deciding to take the reins of the party in her hands and the PCC office here is abuzz with speculation that his first target in the state might be Chief Minister Digvijay Singh himself.Welcoming Sonia's decision to take charge, general secretary Manak Agarwal known for his allegiance to Sitaram Kesri said the ``former'' president's experience should be utilised in running the party, even as Kesri continued to sulk and call everyone names in Delhi. Agarwal, however, said he did not apprehend wholesale changes in the state party setup, saying that the new incumbent would take time to find her depth.During the election campaigns for the Lok Sabha, Digvijay had shown little interest in canvassing for Arjun and it appears that the negative results have added to the ``Bade thakur's'' ire against his protege. WithDigvijay inclined to support Sharad Pawar more than anyone else in the stakes for the leader of the parliamentary party, Arjun even if he is himself not in the contest knows who his friends are among the ten MPs from the state.The Arjun-Scindia camp in the state has five supporters, while Digvijay has control over the other five. After losing two elections, however, Digvijay is left with little support in the legislative party, with MLAs now scared of facing the electorate.Most of them have already started looking to Arjun to change their fortunes.One of them told The Indian Express that ``Soniaji will definitely rehabilitate Arjun, maybe even make him the most important party functionary to counter Pawar, Kesri and others.'' While trying to consolidate his position at the Centre, however, Arjun will not want to let go of his home state.
