Why Congress leader Digvijaya Singh is planning to walk 3,300 km across Madhya Pradesh in six months

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh is all set to embark on a six-month-long 3,300-km padayatra across Madhya Pradesh from October 1. Describing it as a spiritual journey, Singh said he was undertaking this padayatra to perform the Narmada Parikrama (a pilgrimage centred around the sacred Narmada river) on the advice of his guru. The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister also told the media that he had been planning such a journey since 1997 but political engagements had kept him busy. He believes it is now the right time for it.

While Singh has maintained that no political motive should be ascribed to the proposed padayatra, nobody in the Congress is convinced with this explanation.

After all, Singh is a shrewd politician who learned the rules of the game from the master practitioner of realpolitik, the late Arjun Singh. Like his guru, Digvijaya Singh always works to a plan and, therefore, his party colleagues are not ready to believe the proposed padayatra is an innocent spiritual exercise.

The timing of the journey is significant. Madhya Pradesh is headed for Assembly elections next year. It is, therefore, highly unlikely that Singh will not use this opportunity to launch a mass contact programme and reconnect with the “aam janta” of the state.

Digvijaya Singh was Madhya Pradesh chief minister from 1993 till 2003, when he suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Congress leader then took a public vow that he would not run for office in his home state for the next 10 years.

To come in from the cold

Singh moved to Delhi as Congress general secretary and has been based here ever since. His stint in the Capital has, at best, been a mixed bag. As the leader in charge of the party’s affairs in Uttar Pradesh, he gained proximity to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and was known to be a member of his core team.

However, Singh gradually fell from grace and his penchant for making controversial statements only made matters worse for him. Nevertheless, he continued to be given the charge of important states in view of his seniority and vast political experience. Singh was further sidelined in April when he was divested of the charge of Karnataka and Goa. The party leadership was said to be unhappy that he was unable to help the Congress form a government in Goa even though it emerged the single largest party in the Assembly elections that concluded in March.

It is in this context that Singh’s padayatra assumes significance. Although he retains charge of the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the Congress general secretary is virtually out in the cold. Singh is clearly seeking political rehabilitation either in his home state or at the national level. “The yatra is obviously a political move,” said a senior Congress functionary. “As Singh has been sidelined here, he could be positioning himself for a more active political role.”

Benefits of hitting the road

At a time when most Congress leaders are averse to working at the grassroots and are known as “drawing room politicians”, Singh’s move has the potential to pay him rich political dividends. “Hitting the road has always helped… just look at Chandra Shekhar, LK Advani or Rajasekhara Reddy… they all reaped political benefits from connecting with the people,” a Maharashtra Congress leader pointed out.

Both former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar and the late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy had embarked on long padayatras to connect with the masses while BJP veteran LK Advani’s 1990 Rath Yatra (chariot journey) from Gujarat to the disputed Ram temple site in Ayodhya, though he was stopped en route in Bihar, had set the stage for his party’s rise in the 1990s.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, too, had held a roadshow in the run-up to the 2004 Lok Sabha polls that the party eventually won.

Digvijaya Singh embarks on his padhyatra with a distinct advantage. Although he had declared after his defeat in 2003 that he was taking political sanyas in Madhya Pradesh, he did not sever his links with his home state. Singh has been visiting the state regularly and remains deeply involved in its politics. The former chief minister’s failure to deliver on governance remains a talking point with the people even today, though he demitted office nearly 14 years ago. His popularity ratings with the people may not be high but Singh has a dedicated and loyal following among the party cadre. It is expected that the yatra will help Singh activate his old network.

A section in the Congress believes that given the fluid political situation today, Singh is eyeing a role at the national level and is positioning himself for it. They said that persons nursing national political ambitions can only succeed if they have “a seat and a state”. Though Singh has opted for a berth in the Rajya Sabha and chosen not to contest elections, he has a political base in the state that could come in handy when and if required.

Since the BJP has been in power in Madhya Pradesh for three terms and anti-incumbency has set in, the Congress believes it has a good chance of winning back the state. It is, therefore, planning to rejig its state unit with a new chief. The names of former Union ministers Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia have been doing the rounds for several months now. Although Singh has publicly declared that he is not interested in returning to state politics, he would like this coveted post to be occupied by a person of his choice. The yatra could be used to demonstrate his strength on the ground and send out a message that he is still a factor in Madhya Pradesh and that the party leadership can only ignore him at its own peril.