The battle for the Bhopal seat reflects the larger conflict between two competing narratives that is playing out in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The BJP, which has been winning this Hindi heartland seat since 1989, is pushing a mix of aggressive Hindutva and strident nationalism.
On the other hand, the Congress, buoyed by its win in the Assembly elections last December, is talking about unemployment, farmers’ distress and development.
At South Avenue — an upmarket housing complex of 188 apartments in Gulmohar colony — BJP candidate Pragya Singh Thakur was scheduled to address residents but was two hours late.
Yet, a group of residents, including many women, waited patiently. The tag of being a “terror accused” in the 2006 Malegaon blasts case hardly made a difference here.
“Both Swami Aseemanand [acquitted in the Ajmer dargah and Samjhauta Express cases] and Pragya Thakur have been cleared of all charges,” says B.M. Khandelwal, a former president of the residents’ welfare association.
When informed that the BJP candidate remains an accused, an explanation was at hand. “We want Modi ji for the development work, and to make him Prime Minister again we have to send as many BJP [MPs] as possible,” he says.
Amid chants of Bharat Mata ki Jai , Ms. Thakur, accompanied by Alok Sanjar, MP, was welcomed with garlands and bouquets. Those welcoming her, project Ms. Thakur as someone “tortured” for nine years in “false cases”.
‘A crusade’
“I am calling this a dharm yuddh (crusade) against someone who calls Hindus as terrorists,” Ms. Thakur says. “By defeating him, we will be defeating the sutradhar (narrator) of such a description against Hindus.”
There is neither any mention of her vision for Bhopal’s development nor any controversial utterance after her comments on the 26/11 martyr Hemant Karkare and the Babri Masjid demolition stoked controversies.
After the Election Commission officials registered a case, Ms. Thakur’s party has not only advised her restraint but also fielded Mr. Sanjar as a “dummy candidate” to avoid any last-minute crisis.
“There are no apprehensions regarding Pragya ji but we always keep a back-up,” says Mr. Sanjar, who secured more than 7 lakh of the 11.3 lakh total votes polled in 2014.
Of the eight Assembly constituencies under the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat, five were won by the BJP in the recent Assembly polls. And the BJP does not want to leave anything to chance. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has stepped in to counter a campaign that Ms. Thakur is an “outsider”, as murmurs ripple even through the BJP’s ranks.
“It is going to be a one-sided election as it is being fought on Hindutva and rashtrabad (nationalism),” says Surjit Singh Chauhan, chairman of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation and cousin of the former BJP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Clear distinction
Former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, who has taken up the challenge for the Congress, has woven his campaign narrative of “development” with frequent temple visits.
However, with a 26% Muslim population in Bhopal, Mr. Singh makes it a point to draw a clear distinction between Hindutva as political ideology and the Hindu faith.
“I am a far better practising Hindu than many of them but I believe everyone is free to pursue their dharm [religion],” Mr. Singh says , denying that he had ever used the expression “Hindu terror” as had been accused by his BJP opponent.
“Show me one clip where I have used the term ‘Hindu terror’,” counters Mr. Singh, even as he refuses to comment on Ms. Thakur’s legal cases.
At the Bhadbhada vegetable and fruit mandi ( wholesale market), his speech focussed on developing the market and ensuring that proper infrastructure including a cold storage was built. He also reminded the audience of the work he had done as Chief Minister.
But with the residents of Bhopal still recalling the long power cuts and poor roads during Mr. Singh’s term between 1993 and 2003, the Congress candidate’s references to his past achievements can end up a double-edged sword. And the common refrain on the street here is Congress aayee, bijli gayee (Congress has returned and power supply has disappeared) on account of recent supply disruptions.
“There is large-scale sabotage as 32,000 contractual employees were hired during the BJP’s term, who are their supporters,” says Mr Singh, who adds that Madhya Pradesh is now a power-surplus State because of the power plants started in his tenure.
