January 4, 1999

DIVIJAY SINGH
Winner Takes All

After a windfall victory in the Assembly elections he is set to play a major role if the Congress comes to power at the Centre.

FACT FILE

The 52-year-old chief minister of Madhya Pradesh stuck to his words and won a second term. his schemes and grassroots approach helped him survive the anti-incumbency factor. I have the analytical mind of a technical man --Digvijay Singh, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister

Though blessed with the height of a basketball player (6 ft 2 in), Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh had for long been vertically disadvantaged -- in political terms -- by too many "tall Congressmen" from his state. Arjun Singh, Shyama Charan Shukla, Vidya Charan Shukla, Motilal Vora -- they're legion.

However, in the assembly polls in November Digvijay, or Diggy Raja, netted the clinching point as he snatched the state from the jaws of the BJP, which was banking upon an anti-incumbency wave. The victory put the scion of the princely family of Raghogarh in Congress President Sonia Gandhi's A-team. She patted him on the back in the gaze of television cameras, and his selection for the second term was hitchless, though not without the envious frowns. An astute state-level politician, Digvijay has seen Madhya Pradesh's towering Congressmen losing their popular base, and bargaining power, after being sucked into national politics. The 52-year-old politician now wants to preserve his state citadel even though the party, which stands a good chance of capturing power at the Centre, may require his talent in Delhi. Keen not to lose his grip on home turf, Digvijay says, "In the next five years, I must take Madhya Pradesh out of the bimaru trap and convert it into a model state."

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