Digvijaya in Varanasi: Four reasons why he could be Cong's Mr Right

Oddly, Digvijaya Singh might be just the “formidable” candidate the Congress is looking for in Varanasi. Not because he has a ghost’s chance of winning. Some in the Congress might fondly hope that a Digvijaya Singh could do to a Modi what a Raj Narain once did to Indira Gandhi. Narain handed Mrs G the only defeat of her political career after the Emergency. Digvijaya Singh will surely not be able to do that. But he can certainly muddy the waters of the Ganga as the Modi-rath sails into town (pardon the mixed transportation metaphors). Here are four reasons why Diggy-raja could be the Congress’ Mr. Right for Varanasi. He is made for the 24x7 cable news cycle: Modi’s supporters insist that Varanasi is buzzing with the cries of Har Har Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi. Modi wants his election in Varanasi to not just be a cakewalk but a grand coronation. He didn’t choose the holy city lightly. A Varanasi victory has immense symbolic significance for him. Now he could face the prospect of having to deal with both an Arvind Kejriwal and a Digvijaya Singh – the gadfly and the clown. Neither are camera-shy and happy to go on shows and talk endlessly. Raj Narain too was known as the clown of Indian politics. But he came from an age when we only had newspapers and the state-controlled Doordarashan. Kejriwal and Digvijaya are made for the age of 24x7 television and Twitter and they will exploit that to the hilt. In an election where the prospect of a Modi vs Kejriwal stand-off already has television channels salivating, the entrance of a Diggy-raja is just a TRP dream come true. [caption id=“attachment_1442647” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Can Digvijaya Singh help the Congress take on Modi? AFP[/caption] He is a known face who can also fight dirty: There had been speculation that Congress had a couple of different options in Varanasi. One it could go all out and put forth a Priyanka Gandhi Vadra or try to persuade a Sachin Tendulkar to run. But gratitude for a Rajya Sabha nomination can only go so far. Sachin has no reason to tarnish his Bharat Ratna halo by getting down and dirty in electoral politics. And Priyanka, the Congress’ dynasty’s reserve brahmastra, is too precious a resource for the party to sacrifice at the feet of Modi. She certainly would not want to launch her political career as a loser. The other option being bandied around was to find a local leader since both Modi and Kejriwal are outsiders. But again, that has little resonance for these are no ordinary outsiders. Varanasi knows it’s being given the “honour” to choose not the next MP from Varanasi but the next PM for India. The third option was to rally around Kejriwal but that would lead to more charges of AAP being the Congress’ B-team or in this case, the other way around. Other Congress veterans have also offered to run against Modi. Apparently Capt. Amarinder Singh has said he would rather take on Modi than Arun Jaitley in Amritsar according to the Economic Times . PTI reports Anand Sharma is also ready and willing. But Digvijaya already has a higher public profile than either of them.He is battle-hardened, a known and familiar face. He’s had a long electoral career. He could take one for the team and go down but he would also do his best to make sure he bruises Modi as much as possible in the process. And he would get down and dirty in a way a Priyanka or a Sachin would never compromise their dignity. Dignity, after all was never Diggy-raja’s USP. He can force Modi to react to him Unlike a Rahul who wants to portray a peace and love, we-are-all-flowers-in-the-same-bouquet persona, Digvijaya is a fighter. He’s also a motormouth. He says outlandish things and makes absurd claims which is why television cameras adore him. Most importantly he is not afraid to play the buffoon because he has little to lose. His aim in the election will be purely to draw blood. Modi has spent much of this election giving speeches not interviews. Modi is used to setting the agenda and letting others react to it. But Digvijaya and Kejriwal are happy to talk to media and they could force Modi to react to them as the campaign heats up and they unleash a barrage of charges. Digvijaya Singh can run a campaign that’s entirely focused on barbs trying to get a rise out of Modi. Losing to Modi is martyrdom he can live with: It also works to Digvijaya’s own advantage. The rumour mill has it that Digvijaya has floated the idea of taking on Modi himself in order to preemptively squash other plans afoot for him. Rasheed Kidwai reports in The Telegraph that some senior Congress leaders wanted the high command to ask Digvijaya to run against Sushma Swaraj in Vidisha in his home state. Kidwai writes “(s)ources close to Digvijaya said that the ‘sacrificial’ offer was made because a defeat to Modi, a candidate for Prime Minister was far better than the same fate at the hands of Swaraj”. He apparently also has the support of the Shankaracharya of Dwarka who is opposed to the VHP. But that’s just icing on the cake. At a time when many senior Congress leaders like P. Chidambaram are trying to avoid running for election, completely in defiance of Rahul Gandhi’s wishes, Digvijaya can boast that he is setting an example of leading from the front. This is a loss that would look good on his resumé. Ultimate Digvijaya could be the fighter Congress needs in Varanasi because unlike Modi he does not need to win. He just needs to get under Modi’s skin as much as possible. And digging deep is just second nature to Diggy-raja.He might not be a giant-killer but he would certainly be a giant headache.