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Indications about Union Sports Minister Uma Bharti being considered to lead the Madhya Pradesh unit of the BJP seems to have galvanized the somnolent incumbent leaders into action.
The state leaders on Monday mustered the courage to move the first no-confidence motion against Digvijay in four years, but not before receiving a tongue lashing from party president Venkaiah Naidu when they went to lobby against the appointment of Bharti.
However, even then, it appears to be a half-hearted attempt to prove a point to the central leaders.
That they do not hope to create any trouble for Digvijay Singh is apparent as the no-confidence motion seems more like a long list of complaints.
No-confidence motions by nature specifically focus on one or sometimes two issues.
Leader of the Opposition Gaurishankar Shejwar has also submitted a list of 22 speakers who have been given 15 minutes each to make their points, which include illegal mining and forcible displacement of people living in the Maan Dam catchment area.
In his opening speech, Shejwar talked about the state's fragile economy, the dismal power scenario, poor condition of roads and about the shortage of water.
He ticked off Digvijay Singh for the estimated Rs 300 billion (Rs 30,000 crore) debt burden that the state would be faced with by the end of his second straight term in office.
He elaborated on how road construction projects were becoming a drain on the state exchequer citing the example of Enbasco company, which has been receiving state subsidy for constructing six roads for which the company would be charging toll from users.
He repeated his charges of large-scale embezzlement of funds amounting to Rs 5 billion (Rs 500 crore) by MP Electricity Board officials in collaboration with industrialists. The BJP had earlier released a list of 86 defaulters.
The issue of illegal mining is perhaps the only one to lend some sort of weight to the debate on the motion.
Animal Husbandry Minister KP Singh has been found guilty of illegal mining in Shivpuri district and of violating green belt norms by a team of experts appointed by the Supreme Court acting on a Public Interest Litigation by Santosh Bhartiya of Damoh town.
The SC is still to give a final decision in the matter but it has been a cause of major embarrassment for Digvijay Singh.
Harvansh Singh, another minister close to the chief minister, may face some embarrassment because of his alleged links with the transport mafia.
Being one of the most lucrative portfolios, every transport minister has been at the receiving end of allegations of misappropriation of funds.
Another, the excise department, may be spared of a starring role in the debate as Shejwar himself has been linked with some distillers in his constituency.
Apart from these, there appears to be no issue in the BJP's armoury to create a scare in the ruling Congress.
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