SNP heavyweight Angus Robertson is making a bid for the Edinburgh Central constituency at the next Scottish Parliament elections.
The former Moray MP will seek his party's nomination to run for Ruth Davison's seat in 2021
Davidson is not expected to contest the seat for the Scottish Conservatives, who won with a relatively slim 610-vote majority.
Robertson led the SNP's Westminster group between 2007 and 2017, meaning he frequently appeared at Prime Minister's Questions and built up a high profile.
He was also the party's deputy leader, but lost his seat in the 2017 general election. Recently he founded the Progress Scotland research company.
He announced his intention to run for the seat in a column in the Edinburgh Evening News on Tuesday.
Robertson said he grew up in Edinburgh Central and first became active in the SNP in the constituency.
Saying he would be a "full time" MSP, he hit out at Davidson's nomination for a peerage.
He said: "At present the heart of Scotland’s capital city is represented by somebody who would prefer to be in the House of Lords and pursuing a career in public relations.
"Ruth Davidson, who admirably announced her decision to stand down as Scottish Tory leader to spend more time with her family, has since put other career interests in London ahead of the people she still represents at Holyrood.
"They deserve better. No one can be in two places at the same time."
