Accused in Malegaon terror blast case, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur is BJP’s candidate from Bhopal

In first remarks as the party candidate, Thakur called the contest a “dharma yudh” and accused her Congress rival of equating saffron with terror. “Mei bhagwa ko samman dila ke rahungi (I will ensure saffron’s dignity is restored),” she said, adding “all conspiracies against me have failed”.

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She had staked claim to the Bhopal seat the day Singh’s name was announced as the Congress candidate. From that very day, she had been talking in terms of taking on Singh, calling it a battle between “dharma” and “adharma”. She began pushing her case though local BJP leaders, including sitting MP Alok Sanjar, asked the party not to field an outsider.

Her candidature was announced hours after she formally joined the BJP. Party sources said she was promised the party ticket a day earlier. The BJP, sources said, turned to her after it failed to persuade former Chief Ministers Uma Bharati and Shivraj Singh Chouhan to contest from Bhopal, considered a safe party seat. Click here for more election news

Local dynamics changed somewhat after the assembly elections last year in which three Congress legislators, including two Muslims, were elected from Bhopal.

Both Bharati and Chouhan publicly stated, more than once, that they were not willing to enter the fray. Bharati even issued a statement, saying she had made her contribution in 2003 when she ousted the Digvijaya Singh government by a three-fourth majority.

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Although Bhopal will vote May 12, Singh’s candidature was announced by the Congress more than three weeks ago. He was said to be not very keen but accepted the Bhopal challenge after Chief Minister Kamal Nath asked him to contest.