Digvijaya Singh Reaches Temple, Seek Seers’ Blessings Ahead of LS Poll Preparations

Gwalior: Days after he was declared as the Congress candidate from Bhopal, Digvajaya Singh is making a concerted effort to ensure that his ‘Hinduwadi’ image remains intact.

Singh, who just a few months back took a dip at the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, sought the blessings of several religious heads on Tuesday.

The sitting MP first called on Jain saint Acharya Muni Sagar in Jabalpur’s Tilwara Ghat.

After receiving Muni Sagar’s blessings, Singh headed to Jhoteshwar in Narsinghpur district where he sought the blessings of his guru Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati.

The latter was also present when the former CM had completed his Narmada Parikrama in Narsinghur last year.

After his visit to Gotegaon and Raisen, Singh reached Bhopal late Tuesday evening to start preparing for the upcoming polls.

The Bhopal North MLA Arif Aqueel, an old aide of Singh, came out in support of the sitting MP from Raghogarh saying that even the BJP didn’t have as staunch a ‘Hinduwadi’ as Digvijaya Singh.

“He (Singh) did the parikrama of Narmada on foot while people in BJP have done the same sitting inside a plane,” Aqueel said.

The Urban Development Minister in the state Jaivardhan Singh spoke vociferously about his father Digvijaya’s devotion.

“My father is a true Hindu. There are nine temples in our ancestral home in Raghogarh where puja-aarti is done twice a day for almost 300 years,” he said.

The young MLA also claimed that efforts are always being made to sully his father’s image but the “conspiracy will not succeed this time”.

Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal hit out at the Congress leader's strategy using a metaphor from the epic Ramanayana.

“We all know the demon Kalanemi had tried to confuse others by taking different forms but he could not deceive lord Hanuman and I am sure people of Bhopal won’t let him (Digvijaya) fool them in the polls,” Agrawal said.

Last year, Singh had undertaken a 3300km Parikrama of the Narmada river ahead of assembly polls in the state. The MP now faces a tough battle in the Lok Sabha constituency of Bhopal, which is a saffron stronghold.

Although the Congress has remained successful in garnering the minority community’s support in the constituency, Singh’s recent efforts signal the party’s strategy to win over the dominant Hindu electorate and intrude BJP vote bank.

The BJP is still pondering over a suitable opponent to field against Singh in Bhopal.