Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath on Saturday “appealed” to senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh to pick the “toughest seat” in the state to contest from if he desired to enter fray in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Talking to reporters in Chhindwara where he was currently on a two-day tour to kick off electioneering for Congress for the upcoming LS polls as well as an assembly by-election he was scheduled to contest to enter state assembly, Mr Nath said there were 3-4 LS seats in MP which shunned Congress for last 30-35 years.
“I have urged Digvijay Singh to choose the toughest seat in MP if he wants to contest the upcoming LS polls. However, the decision to pick the seat rests on him,” he added.
Congress sources said Mr Nath may have dropped hints that he wanted Mr Singh to contest from Bhopal where the last time Congress won was in 1984. Former president Late Shankar Dayal Sharma won the seat in 1984.
Speculations doing rounds in Congress circle indicated that Mr Singh was also being considered for Indore seat which has remained out of bounds for Congress since 1989. However, sources close to Mr Singh said he was keen to contest from Rajgarh seat in MP, considered his pocket borough.
Similarly, AICC general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia, who has been appointed in-charge of Uttar Pradesh (west) in the upcoming LS polls, was mulling to contest from Gwalior instead of Guna, he currently represented. However, Mr Nath wanted Mr Scindia to contest from Guna to ensure that the seat was retained by the party, sources added.
Mr Nath said the list of candidates for LS polls in MP would be declared in 3-4 days. He has already indicated that he would vacate his Chhindwara LS seat for his elder son Nakul in the upcoming polls and he would contest by-elections in Chhind-wara assembly seat, scheduled to be held on April 23.
