Congress banks on Digvijay to breach saffron bastion of Bhopal

Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh's entry into the Lok Sabha poll fray from Bhopal, a traditional BJP seat, has added an interesting angle into the contest which is going to be prestigious battle for both the parties.

However, the BJP has not yet zeroed in on a suitable candidate to take on the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister, known as 'Raja Sahab' among his followers, who is contesting his first Lok Sabha elections since 1991.

In order to wrest Bhopal from the BJP, the Congress has fielded Singh (72) from the state capital to give a tough challenge to the saffron party which has not lost from here since 1989.

The Bhopal seat is currently held by Alok Sanjar of the BJP.

The Congress won Bhopal last time in 1984 when the party candidate K N Pradhan registered victory from here, riding the Indira Gandhi assassination sympathy wave.

The surprise move of the Congress to field Singh has forced the BJP to redraw its strategy for retaining Bhopal, the high-profile seat once held by firebrand saffron leader Uma Bharti.

The delay in announcement of BJP candidates in prestigious seats like Bhopal, Vidisha, Indore and Gwalior, among others, has given an opportunity to the Congress to take potshots at the main opposition party which lost its 15-year- old grip on power in Madhya Pradesh in state polls last year.

Chief Minister Kamal Nath recently quipped, "The BJP should issue an advertisement to ensure it gets candidates for contesting on the remaining constituencies."
Taking a dig at the saffron outfit for the delay in announcing its Bhopal candidate, Singh's media in-charge, Manak Agrawal, told PTI, "The BJP is unable to find any candidate against Singh as whosoever is selected, that particular candidate backtracks."
State BJP spokesman Rajnish Agrawal said, "The BJP has not delayed announcement in names of candidates on any seat so far. The party is declaring its candidates as per the dates of notification for nomination process."