Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, contesting against BJP’s Sadhvi Pragya Thakur in the high prestige seat of Bhopal, missed casting his own vote on Sunday, drawing sharp criticism.

Addressing an election rally in Indore, former CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan took a jibe at the perceived groupism in Congress, saying “Diggy Raja has no faith even the administration of Kamal Nath. That is why he kept running from one polling booth to another and could not cast his own vote.”

Singh, who had led a spirited campaign in the polarised politics of Bhopal, has remained confined to the state capital for the last two months and hardly moved out of the city ever since BJP named Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Thakur as its candidate. While Digvijaya could not go to Rajgarh to cast his vote, Pragya Thakur did cast her vote in Bhopal.

Singh said he did feel bad about not being able to vote at Rajgarh, situated 140-km away from Bhopal. He added that he would get registered as a voter in Bhopal and cast his vote next time in Bhopal, suggesting that he would shift base to the state capital.

Chouhan, however, said, “Diggy Raja is losing badly in Bhopal. He is very panicked so much so that he did not even go to cast his vote. If a person, who had been Chief Minister for 10 years, does not cast his vote, this shows what kind of commitment he has towards the democratic process.”

BJP’s IT Cell chief Amit Malviya said this shows Singh is “struggling against Sadhvi” even as Singh explained that he was busy overseeing the voting in Bhopal and not all nervous.

Bhopal has been a BSP bastion for three decades and Singh had stuck his neck out under party pressure to choose a seat which is considered tough for Congress. It was Chief Minister Kamal Nath, who had nudged him to pick up the toughest seat.