'Will Treat Him Like Royalty': Why BJP Is Suddenly Rolling Out The Red Carpet For Digvijaya Singh

Last Updated:July 03, 2026, 11:39 IST

Instead of criticising Digvijaya Singh, the BJP praised him this week. One BJP MLA even invited him to join the party, promising he would be treated "like royalty".

For decades, senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh has been one of the BJP’s favourite political targets. From branding him the face of the Congress’s “appeasement politics" to making him the centrepiece of election campaigns, the saffron party has rarely missed an opportunity to attack him.

This week, however, BJP leaders were singing a very different tune. Instead of criticising Singh, they praised him. One BJP MLA even invited him to join the party, promising he would be treated “like royalty".

The dramatic reversal came after Singh publicly contradicted a key allegation made by his own party against Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, triggering an embarrassing bout of infighting within the Madhya Pradesh Congress.

The Fact-Check That Rattled Congress

The controversy began after state Congress chief Jitu Patwari targeted Mohan Yadav over alleged irregularities involving the Veer Bharat Nyas trust in Ujjain. Referring to reports on land transactions linked to the Chief Minister’s family and associates, Patwari alleged that government land worth nearly Rs 500 crore had been handed over to the trust for just Re 1.

But when Digvijaya Singh addressed reporters in Ujjain a few days later, he publicly challenged that claim. “I have all the relevant documents. The land has not been given to a private trust. It has been given to a government trust," Singh said, adding that he never comments on any issue without proper research.

He also remarked that there was “no shortage of dalals" who make false allegations, a comment that many Congress leaders initially interpreted as a swipe at their own campaign. Singh later clarified that the remark was aimed at a journalist, not at Jitu Patwari or any Congress colleague.

BJP Seizes The Moment

The BJP wasted no time turning Singh’s intervention into a political weapon. State BJP media in-charge Ashish Usha Agrawal declared that “the lifespan of a lie is not very long", saying the Congress’s allegations had been punctured by its own senior-most leader.

BJP spokesperson Dr Hitesh Bajpai, who has often attacked Singh in the past, praised him for examining official documents before making public statements. Huzur MLA Rameshwar Sharma also hailed Singh for exposing what he called the weakness in the Congress’s allegations.

Then came the most striking gesture. BJP MLA Pritam Lodhi publicly invited Singh to switch sides.

Calling him “a good elderly man who helps everyone", Lodhi claimed the Congress was no longer respecting one of its tallest leaders. “If Digvijaya Singh joins the BJP, we will treat him like royalty," he said.

For a leader who has spent years as one of the BJP’s principal political adversaries, the praise was extraordinary.

Congress Turns On Its Veteran

While the BJP celebrated Singh, sections of the Congress were furious. Congress general secretary Nidhi Chaturvedi accused the veteran leader of undermining party discipline and alleged that his actions were driven by his desire to strengthen the political prospects of his son, Jaivardhan Singh.

Former state Congress president Arun Yadav reportedly appealed to Rahul Gandhi to intervene, warning that internal divisions were overshadowing the party’s campaign against the BJP government.

Sensing the damage, the Congress leadership quickly moved to project unity. Digvijaya Singh and Jitu Patwari appeared together before reporters and issued a joint statement asserting that the entire party remained united in its fight against the Mohan Yadav government over alleged land-related irregularities.

Singh also sought to end speculation of a rift. “Jitu Patwari is like my son. I have spent more than half a century in the Congress. I can never use the word *dalal* for any Congress leader," he said.

Why BJP Is Embracing Digvijaya Singh

The BJP’s sudden warmth towards Digvijaya Singh is less about political reconciliation than political strategy.

By praising Singh’s insistence on verifying documents before making allegations, the BJP managed to portray itself as the beneficiary of a “fact-based" intervention while highlighting divisions within the Congress.

The episode also shifted the political conversation. Instead of focusing solely on the Congress’s allegations against Mohan Yadav, attention turned to the Opposition’s internal discord and its inability to present a united front.

For the BJP, it was an unexpected political windfall. And for Digvijaya Singh – long one of the BJP’s fiercest critics – it resulted in the rare spectacle of receiving public admiration from leaders who have spent years attacking him.

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