Madhya Pradesh: Has Rahul clipped Digvijaya’s wings?

By Chandna C Arora Bhopal: Arch rivals in Madhya Pradesh Congress for long, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh and Union Minister for Power Jyotiraditya Scindia appear to have buried the hatchet. It’s still not clear whether the new-found bonhomie is for public consumption or it’s only a short-term truce, but the development is being viewed in party circles as a big come down for the former. So have his wings been clipped? Digvijaya, who is obsessed with treating the state unit as his pocket borough, seems to have been chastened by the severe tongue-lashing from party vice president Rahul Gandhi on factionalism in the state unit. A few days ago, he even said Jyotiraditya Scindia was the party’s front-runner for chief ministership if the Congress came to power. This is when it’s common knowledge that the party general secretary controls some of Congress’s influential factions and some of his loyalists are keen on the job.[caption id=“attachment_760473” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. Naresh Sharma/Firstpost[/caption] Addressing party workers and leaders on 25 April in Bhopal, Rahul had come down heavily against factionalism in the Congress. “No matter how senior or popular a leader is, he or she would be taken to task if found indulging in factionalism.” He made it clear that whether the powerful leaders wished so or not, they will have to work from one platform and they will have to stand united. Or else, they would face the consequences in 2013 Assembly elections. He announced that party ticket won’t be finalized by a handful of powerful leaders sitting behind closed doors in Delhi, who consider the party as their “bapauti (inherited/owned property)”. Tickets would be finalised with proper concurrence of district and block level party members. This, he said, was to ensure that popular and deserving candidates got candidature and didn’t turn into rebels. He added terms and conditions for the leaders. “The leader who recommends a candidate would be responsible and accountable if the candidate loses. A candidate who has lost three elections will not be given a ticket. If party office-bearers wish to contest elections, they have to first relinquish party positions,” he said. He did not take the names of the likes of Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath, Kantilal Bhuria, Ajay Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia, but the hint was clear. His plain-speak shattered many myths. The foremost being top leaders supposedly close to him would be able to manipulate the young Congress leader. Many local Congress leaders construed Rahul’s statement as a direct signal to Digvijaya followers such as Ajay Singh, Kantilal Bhuria and Harvansh Singh who control important party positions. The first signs of the ripples caused by Rahul’s blunt-speak were witnessed when on 28 April in Ujjain when Digvijaya came clean on his political aspirations, “I want to make it clear that come what may I am not in the race for the chief minister’s post of Madhya Pradesh and I am not going to contest the assembly elections in the state this year. However, I would contest next year’s Lok Sabha elections if the party allows me to do so.” Then for the first time, he openly spoke against factionalism. He exhorted his party members and public to do as Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi says. “Work unitedly for the party. There is growing resentment among people towards the ruling party. Congress workers should take advantage of that. The people of Madhya Pradesh have been suffering for the last nine years. They should now vote for Congress and end their suffering,” he said. While it is known that Digvijaya is no longer interested in state politics, he does not wish to let go of his influence in the state Congress. He wants his followers and loyalists to be in right positions. With the power he wields at the Centre, he has seen that all his loyalists are made comfortable in the MPPCC. His first announcement in Ujjain was followed by his statement on Scindia being the frontrunner. This coming from Digvijaya, has set speculations going as to what would be the future of Digvijaya loyalists? What would be the political prospects for hard-working, potentially CM-material leaders, such as Ajay Singh and Kantilal Bhuria? At present, in Madhya Pradesh these two leaders have been toiling hard, and succeeding too, in establishing themselves as front-runners as CM, if the Congress does win the next elections. These and other followers of Digvijaya have a wide popularity and acceptability base in the state. And till Rahul Gandhi’s visit, Digvijaya had promoted and stood by his protégés. So, was the Congress vice president’s tirade in the Congress office in Bhopal, just to convey a message to Digvijaya Singh? And has Digvijaya Singh since then, ‘fallen in line’, and would he now support candidates other than his own protégés for CM-ship? Will Digvijaya’s followers too now fall back to make way for Jyotiraditya Scindia? Or would there be more factional wars we could be witnessing in Madhya Pradesh Congress? Watch this space for more developments.