By Express News Service

BHOPAL: At a time when Congress national president Rahul Gandhi is travelling across Madhya Pradesh, visiting religious places and launching scathing attacks on PM Narendra Modi and CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan at public rallies, a video of former chief minister Digvijaya Singh is proving an embarrassment for the party eyeing a return to power after 15 years in the state.

A 24-second video showing Digvijaya Singh with other party leaders, including the working president of the state Congress unit, Jeetu Patwari, has gone viral on social media.

In the video, Singh is seen telling party workers that he is skipping election campaigning as his speeches make Congress lose votes.

“You’ll end up becoming mere dreamers if you don’t work hard for success. The party’s government won’t be formed in the state if you just keep on dreaming instead of working hard for the party’s collective electoral triumph. Whoever gets the ticket, even if it’s an enemy, just work for the candidate’s victory,” Singh is seen exhorting party leaders.

In the video, perhaps captured at the residence of Congress MLA Jeetu Patwari in Bhopal, Singh goes on to add, “I don’t go for campaigning and neither do I deliver speeches, as my speeches make the Congress lose votes.”

The video has triggered a controversy, and senior state party leaders, including MP Congress chief Kamal Nath and the state election campaign committee chief, Jyotiraditya Scindia, are evading a direct reply to questions about it.

On September 17, the two-time ex-CM was in the news owing to a campaign over social media to name him as the party’s CM candidate. Singh, however, made it clear that he was not in the race to be the next CM.