Digvijaya Singh has been reminding voters that this is his last election
“Maine tumhare pitaji ke saath bahut kaam kiya hai,” says former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh as he alights from a makeshift dais, holding the hand of a Congress worker. As the young man bows to touch his feet, the septuagenarian Singh embraces him amid shouts of “Raja Saheb Ki Jai”.
Holding small street-corner meetings, Singh hops from one to another, reminding the voters that this is his last election and that he will always be available for them, unlike Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be seated in New Delhi and won’t be available to solve their problems.
“Yeh mera aakhri chunaav, mujhe paanch saal dijiye main aaplogon jeewan main badlaw laa ke rahunga (this is my last election; give me five years, I will bring change to your lives),” Singh says, not revealing any sign of tiredness or fatigue that the hot sun would have brought.
“They (BJP) say ‘don’t look at the candidate but vote in the name of (Narendra) Modi’ … arre bhai, agar Modiji ko dekhte to Benaras se chunaav ladhte … yaa woh yahan Rajgarh se ladhte. Agar aap koi pareshanni hui to aap Modiji kee paas thorri naa jaaoge … aap log to aapne sansad ke paas jaoge, but yahan ke sansad to dikhte he nahi hain (If we wanted to see Modi we would have fought elections from Benaras or he should have fought from Rajgarh. If anyone lands in any trouble, you won’t go to Modi but approach your local MP who is not available).
The Rajgarh Lok Sabha constituency had been a Congress bastion earlier but has overwhelmingly turned towards the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the last few elections. The current Lok Sabha candidate, Rodmal Nagar, won in 2014 and 2019.
Rajgarh comprises eight Vidhan Sabha constituencies, of which BJP holds six and just two — Raghogarh and Sushner (in Agar-Malwa) district — are with the Congress now.
Known to be one the tallest Congress leaders in Madhya Pradesh, Digvijaya Singh tries to establish a crowd connect, which has been his forte since his heyday as Madhya Pradesh chief minister.
In between he does not forget to mention the fact that the Congress government in the state, formed in 2018 under the chief ministership of Kamal Nath, perished due to the “betrayal” of some people.
“Hamare yahan jo aaata hain hum ussko pehle line main bithaate hain but BJP ke yahan jaanewaale ko akhri line main dhakeel deeya jaata hai (those who come to us we make them sit in the front row and those who join the BJP are pushed into the background),” Singh said, reminding people of the revolt by Jyotiraditya Scindia, leading to the downfall of the short-lived government.
He tears into Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, saying that the Rashtriya Swaymsevak Sangh is still a truthful organisation but the parivaar Modi is talking about is a “family of crooks”.
“Sab Congress leaders jinke khilaaf corruption charges the BJP main jaane ke baad badhe badhe post main bithaa deeye gayein hain. Chaahe woh Assam ke CM ho yaa Maharashtra ke deputy CM (those who have corruption charges against them and join the BJP are given plum posts).
Earlier, the BJP used to say they will make Congress-mukt Bharat but now they are hell-bent on making Congress-yukt BJP.
As he hops into another village (Bhainswa), largely dominated by people from the Meena community, Singh parks his vehicle alongside a small temple, wearing his Hindu credentials on his sleeve.
He reminds the predominantly agrarian audience of the failed promises of the Modi government and also how the state BJP and central government used the “Ladli Behna” yojana to garner votes during the state polls but started deleting names (of beneficiaries) immediately after that.
Singh is carrying on a composed campaign, backed by a team of young professionals who also run a call-centre to connect to the youth, whom he might find hard to sway.
Some 20 km away, Amrita Singh, Singh’s wife and former journalist, is assisting her husband in campaigning with door-to-door meetings of mostly rural women in a village called ‘KesariyaBe’.
She too tries to convince the voters how the Congress will empower women and give them a monthly allowance even as women list their problems.
Her connect with the audience is immediately established as she talks about the jewellery they are wearing.
“Congress naal rahoge to aish karoge (If you stay with the Congress you will make merry),” Amrita Singh signs off, borrowing a line from a popular Hindi song.
First Published: May 03 2024 | 12:34 AM IST
