In poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, the Congress looks like a two-man gerontocracy in which the senior partner has assigned the power of attorney to the junior to take abuses from party men who feel heartbroken due to the joint decisions of the duo.
Septuagenarian Kamal Nath (77), who is just four months older to Digvijaya Singh (76), confirmed this arrangement between the two in as many words during a public function to mark the release of the party manifesto on October 18.
The Enduring Kamal Nath-Digvijaya Singh Bond
The trigger for the PCC chief’s remark was a viral video of the previous day that showed him asking angry supporters of a ticket aspirant to tear off the clothes of Digvijaya Singh for denial of ticket. In his characteristic jocundity, Digvijaya Singh acknowledged the “power of attorney” but not before reminding Kamal Nath that all the party decisions bear his signature as PCC chief. The bantering between the two Congress bigwigs is still resonating in the election campaign, though they had laughed it off as a “family matter” soon after.
Given the enduring companionship between Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh since 1980, people have largely taken the bantering for what it was – a bantering. The leaders have stood together during political crises affecting the Congress party in the last four decades.
Kamal Nath’s support was decisive in the election of Digvijaya Singh as Chief Minister in 1993. In return, Digvijaya Singh gleefully let the then Lok Sabha member from Chhindwara rule the Mahakoshal region virtually as a parallel chief minister for next ten years.
Digvijaya’s Post-2017 Political Comeback
Their friendship further deepened when Kamal Nath took a maiden plunge into state politics in April 2017 as PCC chief. The astute politician that he is, Digvijaya Singh had a clear understanding that his friend had returned to the state with the sole aim to become CM, notwithstanding Jyotiraditya Scindia’s hectic jockeying for the coveted post.
The two Congress veterans instantly banded together to command complete sway over the state Congress, leaving all their juniors behind. The duo has not loosened their grip on the organisation since 2017, much to the discomfiture of other leaders many years junior to them.
While the second rung leaders such as Suresh Pachouri, Arun Yadav and Ajay Singh were trying to figure out their future roles under the new PCC chief, Diggy Raja embarked upon a 3,000-km Narmada peregrination with the ostensible purpose to “fulfill a long cherished wish”.
Although he insisted the journey was religious and apolitical, the former CM let the real purpose of the Narmada Parikrama be known as he reached out to Congress workers all along the Narmada banks. Digvijaya Singh’s memory is as sharp as his contact base across the state is wide ranging. He deployed both advantages to the hilt.
The veteran’s mass contact exercise on the ruse of Narmada peregrination significantly helped the Congress return to power in the 2018 assembly election. However, Digvijaya Singh remained a backroom strategist all through the electioneering, knowing well that those bad memories of his 10-year-rule could foil the Congress prospects if he came on the front. On its part, the Congress high command too consciously downplayed the former CM’s role in election meetings.
The Congress managed to overthrow the 15-year-old BJP government, albeit with a wafer-thin margin. Since Chief Minister Kamal Nath was relatively unfamiliar with dynamics of state Congress politics, he banked heavily on Digvijaya Singh’s experience and acumen in running the government.
The Raja of Raghogarh was de-facto chief minister. Most of the important decisions in the government bore an unmistakable mark of Digvijaya Singh’s influence.
Despite 2020 Fall, Retaining Kamal Nath & Rahul’s Trust
If he got the credit for bringing and running the government, Digvijaya Singh was squarely blamed for its fall too. He was accused of badly mishandling the political upheavals caused by Jyotiraditya Scindia along with 22 MLAs in March 2020, despite having an inkling of the revolt that had been brewing for some time. Even Kamal Nath minced no words in blaming Digvijaya Singh for keeping the former in the dark.
However, unfazed by the all-round criticisms, Digvijaya Singh endured his friend’s “power of attorney for taking abuses” with fortitude. With time, the septuagenarian leader overcame political challenges from within and outside the party. His attacks against the BJP’s “communal politics” remained as sharp and relentless as ever.
Meanwhile, the Bharat Jodo Yatra proved a great boon for him to win the trust of Rahul Gandhi. He was one of the key organisers of the yatra and proved his mettle in its successful culmination. His long walk with Rahul Gandhi has so rejuvenated Digvijaya Singh that he challenged BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya to compete with him for walking. This was in response to Vijayvargiya calling Digvijaya Singh an old man.
In the ongoing MP elections, Digvijaya Singh took upon himself the extremely challenging task of snatching the 66 seats from the BJP where the party had been uninterruptedly winning for the last 30 years. He toured all these constituencies for six months and submitted a report of his assessment to the PCC chief. The Congress candidates on these vulnerable seats have been selected on Digvijaya Singh’s recommendations.
If Congress makes a breakthrough, it will be the second consecutive election credited to his hard work.
Rakesh Dixit is a senior journalist based in Bhopal. Views are personal, and do not represent the stance of this publication.
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