3 politico-wives from MP set for electoral debut

Bhopal, Feb 12 (IANS) Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Digvijaya Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia, three prominent leaders from Madhya Pradesh, may field their spouses in the upcoming general elections.

The speculation is that Chouhan, who recently lost his chief ministership to Kamal Nath, may field his wife Sadhna Singh from the Vidisha Lok Sabha constituency after Sushma Swaraj, the incumbent from that seat, refused to contest the election.

BJP sources said that Sadhna Singh is being prepared to contest from Vidisha, Chouhan's stronghold, where her chances of winning are said to be strong. The party wants to use the former chief minister's clout in the state to get votes for some other seat.

Singh has had some experience of electoral politics while participating in political meetings and campaigning for her husband for the Budhni assembly constituency.

The probability of Scindia's wife Priyadarshini Raje Scindia getting fielded from Guna too is getting strong, especially after the Congress passed a proposal for her candidature.

Priyadarshini Raje's political activities are set to intensify between February 18 and 24 when she's expected to attend several women conclaves.

Manish Rajput, the head of Jyotiraditya Scindia's election campaign committee, said that the ultimate decision whether she will be contesting or not rests with the Scindias.

"But one thing is for certain. Only the candidate, who has the support of the Scindias would win from Guna. That is because the Scindias have always considered the people of Guna as part of their own family and have done whatever they could for their betterment," he said.

Talk is also rife of Digvijaya Singh's wife Amrita Singh contesting from Rajgarh, her husband's turf, where the Congress had won five assembly seats in the previous elections. Expectedly, it is seen as a safe seat for the party in the coming elections.