Singh was being pitched again Sushma Swaraj in Vidisha by high command. The chances of winning there for Singh are zero. So, if he loses against Modi, well, he took on Modi and delivered a fractured mandate is all that will be needed!
Just a day ago, speculations were rife that Congress will not field any candidate from Varanasi from where BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is running for elections. By night of the same day, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh’s name sprung up as an option.
According to Dailybhaskar, Singh offered to take on Modi from the holy town of Uttar Pradesh reportedly telling his party that he was ready for the fight.
Interestingly, Singh had earlier opted for a backdoor entry to the parliament via Rajya Sabha like other senior Congress leaders. In fact, he has stayed away from electoral politics since losing Madhya Pradesh to the BJP in 2003 and has taken Rajya Sabha route to the Parliament.
Likewise, the wish to take directly on Modi is nothing new for him as on several occasions in the past he had challenged the Gujarat chief minister for an open debate. He has never left a single stone unturned when it comes to tarnishing or questioning Modi. Like his other party members, he refuses to accept the reality of Modi receiving a clean chit in 2002 Gujarat riots. For him, Modi personally killed all those in the riots.
Although the party is yet to announce the name of the candidate, Singh has made it clear that he receives ample light by the media for putting pressure on the party high command. But why does he want to take the bull by its horn when it is pretty clear that Modi has all the positive calculations for him from the seat?
By contesting from Varanasi, Digvijay will ensure that the limelight will not only go to Modi and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal. Also, his dirty playing tricks will try not to leave a single moment to poke Modi. By doing so, he may succeed in putting words into latter’s mouth.
Also, it will take the attention off Kejriwal for a little bit and, in fact, help him better his position in the fray. The fight is not between Singh and Modi and Kejriwal, the SP and BSP have also fielded their candidates. The division of votes will lead to a fractured mandate.
The battle of Varanasi is essentially about the PM post and PM choice of the country. As said by political writer R Jagannathan, it is more like a referendum than an election in Varanasi. With all eyes on the city, a fractured mandate will give all the ammunition to the Modi-opposer group for later use.
Finally, it is not about Singh or Kejriwal winning against Modi. It is only about whether Modi wins from the seat or not. Just like Kejriwal, all the glory is in the martyrdom for Singh.
As Firstpost reported, Singh was being pitched again Sushma Swaraj in Vidisha by high command. The chances of winning there for Singh are zero. And a loss against Swaraj will not let him be in peace.
So, if he loses against Modi, well, he took on Modi and delivered a fractured mandate is all that will be needed!
