Digvijaya Singh rules out third Rajya Sabha term, tenure ends April 9

Former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh and senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has announced that he will not go to the Rajya Sabha for a third term. Singh’s current Rajya Sabha tenure will end on April 9.

 

On Tuesday in Bhopal, Singh announced his decision to vacate his Rajya Sabha seat. When questioned about his successor, he stated that the decision rests with the party.

 

According to Congress sources, Singh will tour the state keeping in mind the next Assembly elections, which are still more than two and a half years away. Sources say he has told the leadership that he wants to devote time to party work in the state. The Assembly elections are a key focus of this outreach.

 

It is noteworthy that before the 2018 Assembly elections, Singh undertook a six-month-long Narmada Parikrama (pilgrimage along the Narmada river). After the 2018 elections, the Congress returned to power in the state, though the government did not last long. In March 2020, the Congress government led by Kamal Nath fell after Jyotiraditya Scindia and his supporting MLAs joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Congress victory in 2018 was partly credited to Digvijaya Singh’s Narmada Parikrama.

 

Congress sources further said that Digvijaya Singh has already made a presentation at the Congress headquarters in Delhi last month regarding strengthening the Madhya Pradesh Congress at the grassroots level and organisational reforms. State in-charge Harish Chaudhary, PCC president Jitu Patwari, and Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar were also present at that time.

 

Senior political analyst Girija Shankar termed this an attempt to put pressure on the party. He told Business Standard: “Whenever a leader makes such statements outside the party forum, it should be understood that his voice is no longer being heard within the party as it used to be. Some time ago, BJP’s Uma Bharti did something similar.”

 

A few days ago, Digvijaya Singh stirred up the Congress by commenting on the organisational strength of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and BJP. He tweeted a picture and wrote: “I found this image on Quora. Very impressive. How the grassroots volunteers of RSS and Jan Sangh/BJP workers, sitting on the floor at the feet of leaders, went on to become chief ministers and prime ministers. This is the power of organisation. Jai Siyaram.”

 

However, after controversy erupted, he clarified that his remarks were about the organisational capacity of the RSS, not in support of its ideology. 

Digvijaya Singh posted this picture along with his comment on RSS-BJP relations