66 tough seats assigned to him, can Digvijaya Singh talk the walk?

Digvijaya could argue that he has earned the right to deliver this censure. The man who declared that he would not contest elections for 10 years after the 2003 loss has spent the better part of the past five years walking the length and breadth of MP, literally. Digvijaya may have tripped here and there, and often trod indelicately onto Hindutva territory that the Congress approached tentatively, but as far as the BJP goes, he has been the face of the Congress offensive in the state.

Not surprisingly, for this election, Digvijaya was given the arduous task of rejuvenating the Congress organisation in 66 seats seen as BJP strongholds. He was handpicked for the job by Kamal Nath, a fellow long-distance traveller, and the Congress’s undeclared CM face for MP. Whether the Congress finds itself in power or not, come December 3, will have a lot to do with these 66 seats.

Digvijaya got onto the task right after senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. By the time Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had visited the state in August, Singh had already put behind him an 11-km walk barefoot through the Berasia Assembly seat, working on the ground and mobilising party workers.

During his continuous tours since, Digvijaya has attended gatherings, big and small, rallied cadres, and stepped in to placate angry party workers. Party workers talk of him letting grass-root workers take the stage and air their grievances, as he patiently jotted down their suggestions.

Gwalior District Congress Committee chief Ashok Singh says: “Singh has been at work for four-five months and it is showing on the ground. He has helped rebuild the organisation in many crucial pockets. He had personal interactions with ground-level workers and removed the distance between them and the top leadership.”

The Gwalior area where Congress rebel-turned-BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia’s writ runs large was one of the regions entrusted to Digvijaya and his son Jaivardhan (who is contesting from Raghogarh). Should the Congress avenge its 2020 government fall and win MP, Jaivardhan is expected to play a larger role.

Some of the other notable seats Digvijaya toured were Budhni, the constituency of BJP CM and its biggest face Shivraj Singh Chouhan; Rehli, the constituency of PWD Minister Gopal Bhargava; Khurai, from where Minister for Urban Administration Bhupendra Singh is contesting; Badnawar, the constituency of Minister for Industrial Policy Rajvardhan Singh Dattigaon Govindpura; the Harsud seat of Forest Minister Vijay Shah; Sanchi, the seat of Health Minister Dr Prabhuram Choudhary; and Shivpuri, whose sitting MLA Yashodhara Raje Scindia bowed out this time.

Apart from the tours, Digvijaya rallied Congress troops via meetings with frontal organisations like the the Seva Dal, NSUI, Mahila Congress and Kisan Congress, as well as members of district panchayats, Janpad panchayats, nagar panchayats and councillors of urban local bodies.

However, the Congress is still facing rebellions in over 40 Assembly seats, with many of the party’s candidates shifting to the BSP and threatening to damage its prospects. The Congress has also had to squash talk of rift between Digvijaya and Kamal Nath, after some incidents in public over ticket distribution.

Furthermore, Digvijaya remains a favourite target for the BJP, which apart from claiming misrule under his government, accuses him of being “anti-Hindu”. Congress sources say that because of this, Digvijaya has chosen to stay away from high-profile events and from the spotlight.

Congress Working Committee member Kamleshwar Patel says disagreements are not surprising. “It is natural for some people to cross over to the other party and become disgruntled. But our senior leaders Digvijaya Singh and Kamal Nath have worked on stemming the rebellion. We think the ground work that has been put in place should help us out in the tough seats.”