Uma Bharti vs Digvijaya Singh possible in Bhopal as RSS tries to convince her: Sources

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is trying hard to convince Union Minister Uma Bharti to contest Lok Sabha election 2019 from Bhopal parliamentary seat, sources said. 

According to people privy to the development, BJP's organizational general secretary Ramlal has asked Bharti - who has decided not to contest the 2019 general elections - to meet him at the earliest. 

Meanwhile, the BJP has replaced Bharti with Anurag Sharma as its nominee from Jhansi.    

Bharti was appointed as BJP's national vice-president after she conveyed to the BJP leadership her wish to not contest the general elections. 

The Hindutva leader has said she wants to go on a 18-month-long pilgrimage from May. 

The Congress has already announced candidature of senior Congress leader and former chief minister Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal Lok Sabha seat, considered to be a BJP stronghold since the last three decades.

Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency, which was represented by Shankar Dayal Sharma in 1971-77 and 1980-1984, has been held by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 1989. Sharma had served as the President of India from 1992 to 1997.

The Congress had last won the Bhopal seat in 1984.

The constituency is currently being represented by BJP's Alok Sanjar, who had won the seat in 2014 by a margin of 3.70 lakh votes. BJP stalwarts like Sushil Chandra Verma, and Kailash Joshi had represented the seat in the past.