The one person who must have been closely watching the 'playful banter' between two high-profile Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh — often called the Ram-Laxman — in Madhya Pradesh is Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Scindia has always maintained that the pact between Singh and Nath forced him to quit the party, which eventually led to the fall of the Congress government in the state. It was sweet revenge for the 'chhote raja' (as Scindia is often called), when his 22 MLAs ensured the fall of the Nath government. It is time for sweet revenge by the Congress to ensure that Scindia and his MLAs can no longer wreak havoc in the upcoming state polls.
At the manifesto release function of the Congress in Bhopal, 11 vachans or promises were released by the Congress. But one promise Nath extracted at the event was from Singh that "no matter what goes wrong and whoever makes the mistake", the former CM has to "take the blame". Singh joked back to say: "Like Shivji, he was ready to gulp down the poison."
The dosti & liquid oxygen
Behind the banter, there are many equations, which have a telling impact on the Congress strategy in the state. Cynics and critics in the party believe that the last time the government fell was when the astute Singh rubbed Scindia the wrong way. And Nath, who till then had experience only in Delhi politics, never understood the game of state politics and was often misled by Singh.
But the dosti between the two has remained intact. Even now, some in the Congress feel that the former CM's pivotal role would give the BJP a chance to propel a campaign that a Congress vote would mean return to the 'dark days of the Digvijaya's sarkar'.
But Singh is like the filmi Ajit dialogue: "Liquid oxygen which will neither let you live nor let you die".
No Congress plan minus Singh
A Congress plan minus Singh could be suicidal. Yet some feel that the controversies surrounding him could give the cutting edge to the BJP in what appears to be a challenging fight for the BJP. In fact, this banter between the two has given ammunition to the BJP, saying there is infighting within the Congress.
Both Nath and Singh have never worked together in the same government.
Madhya Pradesh was the only common thread between the two for long. But when the Congress won in the last elections, the two came closer, much to the chagrin of Scindia.
Talking of poison, while Singh playfully said he was ready to gulp it, Shiv bhakt Scindia, too, is ready to ensure the poison he was 'forced' to gulp in 2018 is avenged in the tandav for Madhya Pradesh.
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