The Congress has stayed away from announcing its candidate from the seat of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh so far, though it has emphasised continually that it would field a 'strong candidate' to take on BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and AAP's Arvind Kejriwal.
According to reports, the party may have zeroed on its candidate in the upcoming election and surprisingly enough it may be party general secretary Digvijaya Singh, who hasn't ever contested from the state before.
Singh has reportedly expressed his willingness to contest from the seat, CNN-IBN quoted sources within the Congress as saying. However, the party hasn't confirmed his candidature yet and could announce its decision only with the next list of candidates in a couple of days.
Can Digvijaya Singh take the fight to Modi? PTI
The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister has stayed away from electoral politics since losing Madhya Pradesh to the BJP in 2003. He has however, contested in national polls before in 1984, 1989 and 1991.
Singh is presently part of a six member committee headed by Rahul Gandhi to coordinate the preparations for the general election.
While Singh would be at a natural disadvantage if he contests from Uttar Pradesh, he stands to ensure that the Congress would get its share of eyeballs in what is turning out to be a high profile constituency in this election.
Singh is also a known Modi baiter and has frequently raised questions and made comments about the BJP's prime ministerial candidate in public. Whether he would be willing to enter a political battle with the dice loaded against him though, isn't clear just yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment