Digvijay Singh says Cong votes get reduced if he campaigns
Bhopal, Oct 16 : A controversy erupted in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh Tuesday after a video went viral in which senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh is heard saying that his party's votes get reduced if he campaigns for it.
The video was recorded on October 13 but it emerged on a day Congress president Rahul Gandhi is in the state to campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections.
Significantly, Singh, the two-time former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, has been conspicuous by his absence in the programmes and rallies which Gandhi has been addressing in the state over the last few weeks.
".. mera kaam keval ek. Koi prachar nahi, koi bhashan nahi. Mere bhashan dene se to Congress ke vote kat-te hai, mai jata nahi" (I have only one job, no campaigning, no speech.
When I deliver a speech, Congress votes get reduced, so I don't go)," Singh is heard saying in the video.
In the video, in which he is seen talking casually to party workers at the residence of MLA Jitu Patwari here, Singh also advises Congress workers to campaign for candidates wholeheartedly to achieve victory.
"Dekho, khwaab dekhte rah jaaoge agar kaam nahi kiya to.
Nahi banegi sarkar agar aise kaam kiya to. Jisko ticket mile, chahe dushman ko mile, jitao (You will continue dreaming if you do not work. You can't form the government if you work like this. Even if the ticket is given to a rival in the party, you should ensure his victory)," he is seen telling the party workers.
When contacted by PTI, Singh said the video was not being shown in a proper manner.
"It is not being shown in the right manner, especially the first part. If you hear the first part, you will understand it in a proper way," Singh said.
The ruling BJP was quick to take a dig at the opposition party over Singh's comments, with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan saying the Congress should not treat one of its senior leaders in this manner.
"We (BJP) have not given him (Singh) this pain. It was given by the Congress itself. His posters are not being put up, he is not being given prominence," Chouhan said.
"I never imagined the Congress will treat one of its leaders in this manner. Congressmen should, at least, respect their leader," the chief minister added.
State Congress chief Kamal Nath parried questions on Singh's video by saying, "I am not aware of the context in which he was stating this".
Polls for the 230-member MP Assembly are scheduled for November 28 while counting of votes will be taken up on December 11.
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Party remains robust, will bounce back, says DMK
Chennai (PTI): Dismissing the shock defeat in the Assembly election as nothing unusual in a democracy, the DMK on Wednesday said it has seen several ups and downs in its long history and asserted that the party workers and office-bearers continue to be energetic and are committed to continuing the good work for people's welfare.
Tracing the party's chequered history, DMK Organisation Secretary RS Bharathi said in 1991 Assembly polls, only the party's late patriarch M Karunanidhi and Parithi Ilamvazhuthi won from Harbour and Egmore segments respectively out of the 234 constituencies in the state.
"So, who can forget 1991? That year we lost. But we bounced back and formed the government in 1996. In our long history of over 7 decades we have seen lots of ups and downs and party workers show determination and continue the good work even when out of power," the DMK leader told PTI.
He said the difference in vote share between his party (24.19 per cent) and the "winning party" (34.92 per cent) is not "very wide."
Bharathi expressed confidence about the party bouncing back and once again emerging victorious.
He and others cited the message of DMK President M K Stalin, thanking the people and asserting that ideology was important rather than victories and defeats alone.
On May 4, the DMK chief asserted that he had seen in his public life, lot of victories and defeats as well. Hence, it is the goal and ideology that was paramount and not merely electoral victories and defeats.
The DMK, which worked efficiently as the ruling party, would from now on work effectively as the main opposition party.
He had further said: "I was truthful to all sections of people; I acted as per conscience, worked beyond my capacity."
Stalin said: "I bow to people's verdict, DMK worked well as ruling party, from now on will be good opposition party. DMK's political journey will continue without any slackness."
When votes were counted on May 4, actor-politician Vijay's TVK created a record of sorts in the electoral history of Tamil Nadu and emerged as the single largest party by delivering a shock defeat to incumbent DMK and its president, Chief Minister Stalin in his Kolathur constituency, while the AIADMK was pushed to a distant third spot.
Vijay and TVK have many firsts to their credit and the party founder will be the first person from a minority religion -Christianity- to helm the state. The assembly election was held on April 23 in Tamil Nadu.
கழகத் தலைவர் மு.க.ஸ்டாலின் அவர்களின் அறிக்கை
— DMK (@arivalayam) May 5, 2026
நடந்து முடிந்த தமிழ்நாடு சட்டமன்றப் பொதுத் தேர்தலில் திராவிட முன்னேற்றக் கழகத்தின் தலைமையிலான மதச்சார்பற்ற முற்போக்குக் கூட்டணிக் கட்சியின் வேட்பாளர்களுக்கு வாக்களித்த தமிழ்நாட்டு மக்கள் அனைவருக்கும் எனது மனமார்ந்த நன்றியை உண்மை… pic.twitter.com/LQtrACGK0z
