Madhya Pradesh polls: Congress leader Digvijaya Singh refuses to campaign

Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Digvijaya Singh earlier this week said that he would not be campaigning for the party in the coming Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections. Reason being, whenever he campaigns, the party loses votes. 

This, after Singh has just completed a Narmada Yatra, in a bid to touch base with party cadres and his own supporters. It is an uncontestable fact that Singh has a presence in the entire state. So what is even more confusing is that Congress posters don’t seem to feature him at all. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, somewhat gleefully, has pointed out this omission.

An influential force

Nirmalananda Swami, the seer of Adichunchanagiri mutt in Karnataka that has a sizeable following in the Vokkaliga community was in Delhi earlier this week and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. By-elections are due in three parliamentary constituencies in Karnataka — Shivamogga, Ballari and Mandya, and two assembly constituencies, Jamkhandi and Ramanagaram on November 3. 

While the pontiff does not participate directly in politics, he is considered an influential force in the primarily agrarian Vokkaliga community. In March 2012, he declared his support for chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda, a Vokkaliga. Immediately, a group of Vokkaliga BJP legislators distanced themselves from former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa’s attempts to dislodge Gowda. Yeddyurappa belongs to the Lingayat community. Losing even one of the five seats will be a big setback for the saffron party that put up a sterling performance in the assembly elections even though it was unable to form a government in the state.