he wants to emerge as a pan-Madhya Pradesh leader.

Digvijaya, who has been tasked with coordinating with all the committees that the MPCC has formed to win the election, has endured the humiliation of being described as the chief destroyer of the party for a long time. But, thanks to his arduous Narmada circumambulation that kept him away from active political and social life for six month until April this year, the former Chief Minister has regained his prestige to a great extent. He is the only pan-Madhya Pradesh leader of the three. All through his famous Narmada Yatra with his much younger second wife, Digvijaya was welcomed by party workers. The yatra has contributed immensely towards his image makeover. He is no longer trolled on social media asan irresponsible, anti-Hindu leader, who is more of a liability than an asset for the party.

Of the four players, Chief Minister Chouhan is dealing with the worst image crisis. He is now likened to Digvijaya of the 2003 vintage. In the run-up to the 2003 assembly elections, the BJP had invented ‘Mr. Bantadhar” as a sobriquet for the former chief minister. The damage it caused was so deep that the Congress’s tally in the election shrunk to 38 seats in an assembly of 230. In 2018, Chouhan, more or less, stares at a similar fate. His stock within the party has fallen so much that BJP MLAs say they would rather not have him in their constituency for campaigning for the fear of losing.

AN ABP-CSDS opinion poll confirms