Ahead of MP polls, Digvijaya Singh claims he doesn't attend rallies because his speeches cost Congress votes

Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh made a reference to a speculated ‘gag order’ on him from the Congress party, saying that he “must refrain from giving speeches or making comments” as it results in losing votes for the party. CNN-News18 reported that the two-time chief minister of the state said in Bhopal that he has been asked not to speak on any issue by the Congress party. He also said that party workers must support the candidate “even if it is an enemy”. According to the report, Singh has been considered as a threat to votes in favour of the Congress, ahead of the crucial Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls. “Jisko ticket mile, chahe dushman ko mile, jitao. Aur mera kaam kewal ek, koi prachar nahi, koi bhashan nahi. Mere bhashan dene se toh Congress ke vote kat te hain, isliye main jata nahi (Whoever gets the ticket, even if it’s an enemy, we should make him win. I only have one work; no publicity, no speeches. Congress loses votes with my speeches, which is why I don’t attend rallies),” Singh was quoted as saying by ANI.

Earlier this month, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati had accused Singh of being “ an agent of the BJP ” and refused an alliance with the Congress, announcing the BSP’s decision to fight the elections on its own. She said, “Congress leaders like Digvijaya Singh do not wish for a Congress-BSP alliance. They are afraid of agencies like ED and CBI. Digvijaya, who is also a BJP agent, is giving statements that Mayawati ji is under a lot of pressure from the Centre, so she doesn’t want this alliance. This is baseless.” The BSP chief made it clear that her party will fight the upcoming elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh either on its own or with local parties’ support. Singh denied Mayawati's claims of sabotage . In response to Mayawati’s comments, Singh said, “I respect her. We will be very happy if we have an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party. At the national level, I have always supported the idea that all parties opposed to the BJP-RSS ideology should come together to defeat them.” In July, Singh was excluded from the party’s important Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, which was presided over by party president Rahul Gandhi. According to reports, the exclusion was an indication of the senior party leader being sidelined. Over the last two years, Digvijaya — the two-term chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, had gradually been kept at a distance due to his oblique remarks that embarrassed the party and also his under-performance when it came to helping the party’s winning prospects in the states where he was made in-charge. With inputs from agencies