One state, many verdicts

As far as the Congress is concerned, with the exception of Digvijay Singh, leaders also skirted issues like Hindutva and terror, occasionally referring to Kandahar to punch holes in the BJP8217;s argument that only it can deal with terrorism.

During his visit to the state, AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi did challenge the BJP, asking it whether terrorists had prevented its government from laying roads and building schools in the state. But barring such one-off references, the Congress touched only the alleged lack of development, corruption and misuse of central funds by the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh.

In the state8217;s hinterland, the issues were diverse, ranging from corruption to inflation to development, or lack of it, to very local issues. Basically, there wasn8217;t one single thread running through the campaign in this vast state spread over 50 districts and 230 constituencies. This is unlike the previous election, when the BJP had succeeded in making 8220;bijli-sadak-paani8221; a common theme across the state against a Congress government that had been in power for two terms.

8226; In Bundelkhand, comprising Sagar, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Panna and Damoh, crop failure, bad roads, electricity, lack of enough seeds and fertilisers and more MSP for wheat and soya have been major issues. Road travel from Bhopal to Sagar used to take upto eight hours; the distance consumes a little over three hours now.

In the absence of a single issue or wave taking centrestage in this election, caste became the major issue here. The presence of the BSP and Uma Bharti8217;s Bharatiya Janshakti was the new factor. An attempt was made to rake up the creation of a separate Bundelkhand in this election. But by all accounts, it could not elicit popular support.

8226; In Malwa-Nimad, communal tension has been the issue. In the last election, BJP made conversions to Christianity a major mobilisation plank in Jhabua. Dhar saw a massive flare-up when the BJP under Uma Bharti converted Bhojshala into a communal issue. Indore, Ujjain and Burhanpur remain centres of communal tension.

This time, there was an undercurrent of communal tension, stoked by sangh parivar organisations around the figure of Sadhvi Pragya Singh, particularly in Indore, Ujjain and Dhar.

8226; Mahakaushal, with its headquarters in Jabalpur, is a tribal-dominated region that has always lacked education and health facilities. Visible development is lacking even in Chhindwara and Balaghat. The BJP had whipped up communal tension in and around Jabalpur in the last election.

This time, except for Jabalpur where the Bajrang Dal is active, the campaign centred on 8220;development8221; claims by the BJP and 8220;corruption8221; charges by the Congress.

8226; The Gwalior-Chambal region was once ruled by dacoits and law and order used to be a major issue here. But the present government claims success in eliminating most major gangs of dacoits. Except for Gwalior, the region remains underdeveloped.

Even in Bhind district, where Sadhvi Pragya Singh grew up and went to school and college, Hindutva or terror did not become an issue.

8226; Vindhya includes HRD minister Arjun Singh8217;s home district of Sidhi, apart from Rewa and Satna. Besides the usual lack of development, the region is notorious for malnutrition deaths.

But malnutrition figured only in Congress advertisements and in one speech by Sonia Gandhi.