Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath here on Saturday announced that former Chief Minister Digvijay Singh would contest Lok Sabha poll from Bhopal. The Party central election committee had met in New Delhi and has cleared the name of Digvijay Singh as a candidate from Bhopal, he added.

Nath was interacting to media persons in Bhopal in Holi Milan event. “I had suggested three seats — Bhopal, Jabalpur and Indore to Digvijay ji and he had asked me to finalise one,” Nath said. I had said he had been a state head for years so his candidature from Raghogarh won’t suit him” the CM said. I had suggested him to contest from Bhopal and the CEC had also cleared the name on Friday, added Nath.

Aap logon ko bhi achcha candidate mila hai Bhopal me, The chief minister said with a grin. It was Nath who had recently tossed up a challenge asking Singh to contest from any of the tough seats in BJP clutches for last few decades.  To add this election foray would mark Singh’s political return in Madhya Pradesh as before losing power to BJP in 2003, the two-time CM had announced not to contest any election for ten years.

Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency, which was represented by Shankar Dayal Sharma in 1971-77 and 1980-1984, has been held by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 1989.

Sharma had served as the President of India from 1992 to 1997. The Congress had last won the Bhopal seat in 1984.

Bhopal constituency is represented by BJP’s Alok Sanjar, who had won the seat in 2014 by a margin of 3.70 lakh votes. BJP stalwarts like Sushil Chandra Verma, Uma Bharati and Kailash Joshi had represented the seat in the past.

Former cricketer late Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, scion of the erstwhile Bhopal State, had unsuccessfully contested from Bhopal on a Congress’ ticket in 1991. The constituency is spread over eight assembly segments, namely Berasia, Bhopal Uttar, Narela, Bhopal Dakshin-Paschhim, Bhopal Madhya, Govindpura, Huzur and Sehore.