Digvijay scoffs at Uma challenge

For Singh faced with a heavy incumbency factor and criticism for the level of development in Madhya Pradesh, Uma’s becoming a soft target has been a shot in the arm. Finishing his second consecutive term as CM, Singh says he does not see much challenge in Uma. ‘‘I have known her since she was five years old. And I know that she is her own opponent,’’ Singh told The Indian Express.

‘‘If she was such a good administrator, then why did the Prime Minister change her portfolios so many times? Why was she dropped from the Cabinet?’’ he asks.

‘‘If the BJP Central leadership thought she would be more effective in the state, the results are there to see. There is something happening every day,’’ Singh said. ‘‘Stability and Uma are two different poles.”

The Madhya Pradesh CM maintains that he never made any remark against Uma Bharati and Govindacharya. ‘‘What I said was about the state of the BJP, never about the two leaders,’’ he said.

Since she took over the charge for the campaign a few months ago, she has been stumbling from one controversy to the other, the last being offering a cake at a Hanuman temple.

Singh himself has been facing various hurdles from the Sangh Parivar, from cow slaughter to Bhojshala. While he does expect more trouble ahead of the elections, he says he is an old-hand at dealing with ‘‘tricks’’. He does not feel the trishul diksha has any religious credibility. ‘‘In our religion, there is a daand diksha and daand swamis. There is no mention of trishul diksha and trishul swamis.’’

Recently, Singh was denied permission by the Centre for travelling to Vancouver to attend a Dalit conference. ‘‘I have sent a letter saying the permission was denied because of political reasons. I have taken up the matter with the PM,’’ Singh said.