The Indian general election spread over a month is finally over. The result is something that the pollsters had forecast earlier, and Modi and the BJP have romped home with a massive mandate. The election was significant as it marked the consolidation of the Hindutva ethos over India as the BJP. One of the path-breaking election contest was at Bhopal.
This time the Congress Digvijay Singh from this seat. Digvijay Singh is anathema to the BJP which has been riled by his comments against "Hindu terror." The BJP this time decided to take on the "Hindu terror" narrative head-on and fielded Sadhvi Pragya Thakur as its candidate from Bhopal to confront Digvijay Singh. She had been accused of terror activities and is an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast.
Contest
The contest turned out to be a one-sided affair, and Digvijay Singh wrote his own political obituary as he lost the election to the 49-year-old Sadhvi by over 350,000 votes. There has been some outcry from a few people about a controversial reference by Sadhvi about Nathuram Godse. She had referred to the assassinator of Mohan Das Gandhi as a "patriot". People assumed that this remark would cost Sadhvi Pragya her seat.
Victory
The victory proves that many in India feel Gandhi and the Congress party is responsible for many of the ills that afflict India today. The BJP is talking of a renaissance, and this has appealed to the core Hindu voteBhopal has a high rate of literacy and also a sizeable Muslim population. But with the polarisation of votes on religious lines, Digvijay Singh's past statements caught up with him and he was defeated. In contrast, there was exuberance in the BJP camp with Sadhvi Pragya striking a chord with the Hindu voters. She has thus been voted to victory.
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