Bhopal: Union Minister and BJP leader Uma Bharti on Sunday rejected reports that the party is considering to field her against Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal, saying that she had defeated the former chief minister back in 2003 by dislodging him from power. Now, the people of the city would defeat him, she added.
While clarifying that she remains firm on her decision to not contest the Lok Sabha elections, Bharti said that she wasn’t afraid of a contest against Singh as defeating him would be “cakewalk”.
Bharti had led the BJP’s successful campaign against the Digvijaya Singh government in 2003 ending the Congress’ decade-long rule in Madhya Pradesh. This time, the BJP is still in search for a suitable candidate against Singh.
“My role was over in 2003 when I toppled Digvijaya Singh ji with a three-fourths majority. This time, the public is desperate to defeat him,” she said.
Bharti added that she was in Jhansi rallying for the BJP when she heard the reports that said that the party wants her to contest Bhopal.
“Former CMs including Kailashnath Katju, PC Sethi and Arjun Singh were defeated by BJP leaders,” she said.
However, the Union Minister added that the party reserves the right to finalise any candidate from Bhopal. “Shivraj Singh Chouhan is a senior leader and CM of 13 years, so he could easily defeat Digvijaya Singh. But, leaders like Rameshwar Sharma, Alok Sanjar, Krishna Gaur, Shailendra Sharma, Bhagwadas Sabnani and Vishwas Sarang can also defeat Singh easily,” she said.
Party leaders close to Bharti believe that the former Chief Minister has been upset with the treatment meted out to her since she stepped down in 2004 following a court case
A senior political analyst also believes that the BJP needs to sort out its internal equations with Bharti before she is named the Bhopal candidate.
On the other hand, Public Relations minister and Congress leader PC Sharma took a dig at Bharti’s remarks saying no one is willing to “play a scapegoat in front of Digvijaya Singh.”
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