BJP drops 14 sitting MPs in Madhya Pradesh, banks on Hindutva to deliver

Has the BJP, which held power in Madhya Pradesh for 15 years, gone bankrupt on bench strength?

In naming Pragya Singh Thakur as its nominee against former chief minister Digvijay Singh for the Lok Sabha election the party has conceded that it has no candidate with political heft to take on the Congress candidate in the state capital.

Pragya Singh Thakur is certainly a surprise choice but is she the candidate worth such a long wait?

It would be unfair to put high hopes on the young Sadhvi and expect her to repeat the feat of Uma Bharati who had once won the seat but refused to join the fray this time.

A rabble rouser, she is prone to assert that her victory is a foregone conclusion, that she would ensure that Digvijaya Singh forfeits his security etc. but can she hold forth on issues like unemployment, the farmers’ woes, water and energy crisis or the state of the economy?

By denying ticket to 14 out of its 26 sitting MPs the party has gambled on the side of bravery. But in finding replacements for them in key constituencies like Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Vidisha and Khajuraho, the RSS doctrine of Hindutva outweighed political mettle and administrative or political experience.

Could it also be due to the obvious fact that heavyweights like Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Kailash Vijayvargiya, Uma Bharati and even Sumitra Mahajan are afraid of being exposed in the electoral arena?

In Indore, after denying ticket to Sumitra Mahajan the party has veered around the much less known candidate Shankar Lalwani. He might have to face the indifference of Mahajan and her arch rival Kailash Vijayargiya. The BJP citadel seems set to fall.

Like Pragya Singh Thakur in Bhopal, the Khajuraho candidate Vishnu Dutt Sharma is also a RSS choice and was initially named for Bhopal. The party members’ vehement resistance forced the leadership to shift him to Kahjuraho, where he is facing violent opposition from the workers.

BJP insiders have not shown much warmth for Thakur’s nomination for a seat which was to see a high-profile contest. Veterans like Babulal Gaur and Umashnakar Gupta have already raised the issue of “outsiders” vs local nominees. So, it would be surprising if all of them welcome another outsider Pragya.

Known for radical speeches Pragya Singh Thakur had claimed that she was prepared for the “Dharm Yuddh”. She is expected to polarise the Hindu vote and split the Rajput vote with nearly 4.5 lakh Muslims in a constituency of 18 lakh voters.

The BJP has been holding this seat since 1989. The Congress had last won the seat in 1984 with former President Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma as its candidate.

Pragya was born and brought up in Lahar area of Bhind district and has a long connection with the Sangh Parivar. She has nothing to lose as a debutante while the pressure, if at all, would be on the 72-year veteran Digvijaya Singh. Tehseen Poonawala has filed a petition to ban the Sadhvi from contesting till her name is cleared in the terror case.

Pragya had worked with RSS-affiliate Akhil Bharti Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and 'Durga Vahini' or women's wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). Though Pragya was cleared of the charges in the 2008 bomb blasts case by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) a special NIA court in December 2018 refused to discharge her. The court however dropped provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against her. But she is still facing the trial under UAPA. She was granted bail by the Bombay High Court last year.