Digvijaya Singh didn't cast his vote. The reason is weird
It seems former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh didn't want to take any chances on Sunday, even if it meant giving up his democratic right. Singh, who is locked in a straight battle for the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat with BJP's Pragya Thakur, didn't leave the constituency and missed voting in Rajgarh. Subsequently, BJP said Singh was "nervous". Here's what happened.
Bhopal saw an intense battle between Singh and Pragya
Bhopal seat, which voted in the sixth phase, witnessed a highly-polarized battle between Singh and Pragya. The latter is an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. Obviously, the saffron's party decision of fielding a terror accused invited criticism. In its defense, BJP said no one better than Pragya could have taken on Singh. The party alleged that Singh floated false Hindu terrorism theories.
I regret that I could not reach Rajgarh: Singh
So when Bhopal cast its votes, Singh decided to not leave the city. He was supposed to visit his constituency Rajgarh, which is some 140 kms away from the Madhya Pradesh capital, to get inked. Later, he said, "I regret that I could not reach Rajgarh to cast my ballot. Next time I will ensure that my vote is registered in Bhopal."
Understandably, BJP took a jibe at Singh for missing voting
Meanwhile, BJP didn't leave the chance of taking potshots at Singh. Amit Malviya, the social media head of BJP, wrote on Twitter, "Buzz from Bhopal: a nervous Digvijaya Singh is camping in Bhopal and has so far not left for Raghopur, place where he was supposed to cast his vote from. So the two time CM is struggling against the Sadhvi."
Dismissing BJP's charges, Singh said his confidence was high
When asked if he was "nervous", Singh told NDTV, "No, no, not at all. I was busy overseeing the voting in Bhopal. Voting will pick like assembly (elections)." He added he was 100% confident.
To recall, Singh was chosen for Bhopal after CM's dare
It should be recalled that Singh was chosen to fight from Bhopal, a seat which has voted for saffron since 1989, after sitting CM Kamal Nath's dare. Nath had told Singh to choose the "toughest" seat where Congress hasn't been in power for the last 25-30 years. Though Singh's first choice was Rajgarh, he decided to fight from Bhopal, respecting "party's order".
