Bhopal: Hoardings dotting the BHEL ground here, where AICC president Rahul Gandhi sounded the poll bugle for the Congress in election-bound Madhya Pradesh by addressing party men on Monday, did not find pictures of former chief minister Digvijay Singh, raising eyebrows in the political circle here.
Senior Congress leaders such as Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia figured prominently in the hoardings and posters erected at BHEL’s Dussehra ground to hail Mr Gandhi for his first visit to Bhopal after taking over as the party chief.
However, Congress veteran Mr Singh could not find place in any of the hoardings and banners displayed there, although, he shared dais with Mr Gandhi and other senior leaders of the party on the occasion.
The 12-km route from the airport to the BHEL ground covered by Mr Gandhi during his roadshow had also been lined up with posters, banners and hoardings of the party welcoming the Congress president. However, pictures of Mr Nath and Mr Scindia dominated the publicity materials.
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took a jibe at Mr Singh for being “neglected” in the show, saying, “Mr Digvijay Singh is like my elder brother. His pictures were not found in the Congress posters and hoardings. It is intriguing.”
The alleged marginalisation of Mr Singh in the show has not gone down well in his camp.
“Mr Singh is striving hard to unite the party... But, the party leadership chose to ignore him. This does not augur well for the unity of the party ahead of the year-end Assembly elections,” an aide of Mr Singh said requesting anonymity.
