The Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister wins the first round against his detractors
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh appears to have stunned his antagonists within the Congress party with his bold gamble last weekend.
Supporters of Arjun Singh and Madhavrao Scindia, who have together been gunning for his removal, say the two have few options.
Scindia is apparently waiting for Arjun Singh to return to the capital on Monday before strategising a response. One of party president Sitaram Kesris aides says the only way for them to secure Digvijay Singhs replacement may be for one of them to take his place.
That prospect, with little more than a year remaining for assembly elections, is unlikely to attract either national leader.
Singh, perhaps, realised his advantage before making his move. He simply told a story at a party public meeting for Kesri at Indore. In it, most party leaders heard an oblique comparison of Singh and Scindia to dogs. Like Digvijay Singh, both of them are from ruling families.
He spoke of a dog who had been on a pilgrimage being asked upon his return how he fared. The dog said he had been garlanded and well received by villagers he passed, since he was on a pilgrimage, but that other dogs had treated him badly. Digvijay Singh then turned to Kesri and said that while most party leaders backed him fully, the party chief should protect him from leaders of his own community.
Arjun Singh sent a note to Scindia at the podium to say that since they had been compared with the canine species, they should both stay away from the subsequent reception and convention. They did.
The states leaders have been agog ever since at the boldness of Digvijay Singhs attack and its likely consequences.
One of his leading opponents acknowledged yesterday that the chief minister would emerge stronger among party workers in the state if his detractors could not now have him replaced within a few weeks.
Kesris aides say the party chief has said more than once in private that the two should not pick a fight unless they are able to deal with the chief minister and should not expect him to fight Digvijay Singh from the capital.
Given this mood, Kesri may well tell the two party heavyweights that they are welcome to take over the reins in the state instead of Digvijay Singh but that he cannot risk a less powerful leader so close to elections. Madhya Pradesh is the largest state ruled by the Congress.Some Congress leaders here are afraid that Kesris public meeting at Nellore today might result in more controversy than his meeting in Indore did last weekend. The meeting may witness a clash of the partys heavyweights from the Rayalaseema region, K Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy and YS Rajashekhara Reddy. The two antagonists have roots in the adjoining districts, Kurnool and Cuddapah respectively. Rajashekhara Reddy is now aligned with PV Narasimha Rao and Rajesh Pilot. Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy is said to be upset that Kesri chose not to address a meeting in Kurnool. Slippers and jeers flew thick and fast at a public rally in the Rayalaseema region, when Rao was the party chief. Those who disrupted that meeting had targetted Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy rather than Rao and were presumed to be Rajashekhara Reddys supporters.
