INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The irrepressible Digvijaya Singh, 71, is back from his six-month Narmada Yatra - he traversed every
constituency in Madhya Pradesh, which he has served twice as Chief Minister
Singh, who looks fighting fit, has lost six kgs in these six months, told me in an exclusive interview that he is a "changed man" and he is
"not in the running to be Chief Minister of MP again"
However, he firmly refused to endorse rivals Jyotiraditya Scindia or Kamal Nath as the Congress' best choice.Singh says he will meet his
boss and Congress president Rahul Gandhi and ask what he wants him to do next
Retirement is not an option
"I am a political person and I will remain in active politics
he will tell Rahul Gandhi only
(File)After he repeatedly said he is a changed man, I asked him what indeed is the difference
"After introspection, I have realised that I need to to be more discreet".You can nearly hear the collective sigh of relief from the
Congress party but before it gets too comfortable, it should consider this
Singh says he is from Madhya Pradesh which will vote later this year, knows it well and has a "plan to win the state which involves all the
senior leaders not in the running to be Chief Minister to fan out to every assembly segment and unite all the divided factions."Both Scindia
47, and Kamal Nath, 71, claim they will support the other if he is chosen presumptive Chief Minister
Singh, once considered the third contender for the job, declares himself out of the running but says he will share his preferred option only
with Gandhi, whom he once politically tutored
Repeatedly pressed to name his choice, he is visibly irritated as he says, "I will not tell you, I will tell Rahul Gandhi".Singh holds
strong sway still over the organisation in the MPCC and personally knows local leaders in every constituency - a bond he has re-established
He says "I want to make it clear that my ambition to become a Chief Minister for the third time is no longer there
I am out of the race to be Chief Minister, but at the same time, I am willing to do any job that the party assigns to me
(File)Singh also wants a Congress version of the BJP's Margdarshak Mandal, an advisory committee that was created to host veterans like LK
Advani who have not been called on once for their counsel
"It should happen, it is nature's law that when old leaves fall, young leaves take their place
So when Mr Narendra Modi sidelined most of his party's senior leaders in a mandal which has not even met once, so it has to happen
You know, there was a generational change during Nehru's time
My advise to our older generation leaders would be to find something to do which can contribute to the Congress party." When asked if he
would be content with being positioned, along with other members of Team Sonia, on such a board, he indicated he would accept the party's
view.Till 2015, Singh was seen as guiding Gandhi into advanced politics to help prep him for his inevitable promotion to his mother's job,
The equation came undone after a series of controversies that climaxed with the Congress not being able to form the government in Goa
will support the other if he is chosen presumptive Chief Minister
(File)"I was never his guru
He is the Congress president, it is his right to assign work to whoever he wants to
He has been very kind to me
He is a young man, he needs to practise young politics
After all, politics has also changed
46-year-old is wrongly accused of dabbling in soft Hindutva to keep up with the BJP
"He has been to temples, he has been to mosques, he has been to churches and gurudwaras, following in the footsteps of his family." Singh
adds that he is a practicing Sanatani Hindu and neither he nor Gandhi, whom he describes as passionate about his beliefs, need a certificate
of their Hinduism from their opponents.While he was powerful in the Congress, Singh was attacked by opponents as a consistent promoter of
appeasement politics.Asked about Sonia Gandhi's recent comment that the Congress had been hurt by its perception as a pro-Muslim party,
"The party has followed the Indian Constitution and the idea of India and the ethos of India which is Sarva Dharam Sambhav, which is our
ethos."Singh is clear that alliance politics is the way forward for the Congress
In the recent by-elections in Phulpur and Gorakhpur, the Congress was pointedly left out of the arrangement struck between arch rivals
Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav which saw the BJP losing both seats
When asked if this highlights the irrelevance of the Congress, Singh says only this - "Ghulam Nabi Azad is the in-charge of UP."Singh is
also clear that the Congress must surrender its ego and strike an alliance as part of an ideological fight with the BJP
"We should have no problem with working with the Left, the SP, the BSP, the TMC and the NCP who are broadly anti the communal agenda of the
Look at the BJP of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and look at Narendra Modi today
It is a difference between earth and sky
Modi is a divisive person and we need to unite to take him and the BJP on."Singh says that the Congress needs to sort out its organisation
and boots on the ground quickly as general elections beckon
He has a word of advise to the party to up its game on social media where he feels he has been victimised
"I have never said anything controversial but a section of the media specially close to Modi and the BJP have always sensationalised my
The worst of course is social media where I have been called an 'Islamist' and a 'Christian' while I have always been a Sanatani Hindu
They twisted my Osama statement," he said of his controversial proclamation that despite being a terrorist, religious rituals should have
Perhaps sensing the impossibility of factionalism being resolved, Kamal Nath, who had become extremely active, addressing daily rallies,
With Singh back in action, the Scindia antenna is up and pressure is building on Gandhi to take a call on naming a chief ministerial
Whatever it takes, Digvijaya Singh is ready for a marathon, so don't count him out in MP.(Swati Chaturvedi is an author and a journalist who
has worked with The Indian Express, The Statesman and The Hindustan Times.)Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the
personal opinions of the author
The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of and does not assume any responsibility or liability for the
