Lok Sabha polls: Can take on Modi in Varanasi, but will go by party's decision, says Digvijaya Singh

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday, 23 March, said he is ready to contest the Lok Sabha elections against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the state's Vidisha, but will go by the party's decision.

"I am ready to take on Narendra Modi and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, but the party has asked me to fight the election from here (Rajgarh) so I will be in the fray from Rajgarh," the 77-year-old Rajya Sabha member told reporters.

His comment came a day after MP chief minister Mohan Yadav questioned why Digvijaya was not fighting elections from the state capital Bhopal despite being a CM for 10 years (1993-2003).

PM Modi has been the most popular face of the BJP, propelling the party to victory in several elections, including the recent MP assembly polls, while Chouhan enjoys formidable support among the masses in the state.

Modi represents the Varanasi constituency. The BJP has nominated Chouhan from Vidisha.

Yadav had also taunted Digvijaya that he had returned to Rajgarh after 30 years.

Congress has not yet officially announced Digvijaya's candidature for the parliamentary elections, but he has claimed that the party has given an "indication" that he could be fielded from the Rajgarh seat, which he has represented twice.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, BJP's Pragya Singh Thakur defeated Digvijaya by 3,64,822 votes from the Bhopal constituency, with her party winning in 28 of the 29 constituencies in the state and Congress getting one.

Digvijaya fought the last Lok Sabha polls from Rajgarh in 1991 before becoming the CM in 1993. The seat was held by his brother Laxman Singh from 1994 (bypoll) till 2004.

Digvijaya's close aide and Congress leader Narayan Singh Amlabe defeated Laxman Singh, who joined the BJP in 2003, in 2009. Later, Laxman Singh returned to the Congress.

BJP's Rodmal Nagar defeated Amlabe in Rajgarh in 2014 and the party has renominated him this time.

Digvijaya and his son Jaivardhan Singh, who represents the Raghogarh assembly seat, met party workers in Rajgarh constituency in anticipation of the senior Congress leader's nomination.

Digvijaya's father Balbhadra Singh was the king of Raghogarh, then in Gwalior state. He was elected from there in the 1951 MP assembly polls as an Independent candidate.