Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

Pragya Thakur leads by 4.48 lakh votes against Digvijaya Singh in Bhopal. The BJP candidate was leading in early trends with 57.74% vote share, received after counting of postal ballots in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal constituency. Thakur is contesting against former Chief Minister and Congress candidate Digvijaya Singh. Digvijay Singh of the Indian National Congress was trailing with 40.24% votes. Bhopal went to polls with eight other constituencies in Madhya Pradesh in the sixth phase of <keyword id="4577611" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="lok-sabha-election-2019">Lok Sabha Election 2019</keyword>. It recorded a 61.71% voting turnout. Bhopal has grabbed a lot of attention after the BJP fielded the controversial Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, against veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh. Thakur, who joined the race for Bhopal almost a month after Digvijaya Singh's candidature was finalised, is no longer just a candidate but has become an election issue. Many have raised questions over her candidature, wondering if someone who's out on bail in a terror case should be allowed to contest elections. Madhya Pradesh poses a big challenge for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as it lost power in the state after over a decade in the 2018 that paved the way for Congress leader Kamal Nath to become Chief Minister. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/patriot-act-godse-debate-kamal-haasan-vs-sadhvi-pragya-bjp/articleshow/69372552.cms">It’s 2019 and India is debating if the murder of Mahatma Gandhi was Godse’s ‘patriot act’</a>

Terrorism- accused Sadhvi Pragya Thakur leads with over 400,000 votes in Bhopal Lok Sabha seat

<ul><li>The debate over <keyword id="102381" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nathuram-Godse">Nathuram Godse</keyword>’s ‘patriotism’ is peaking in India ahead of the last polling day.</li><li>Superstar-turned-politician <keyword id="6354603" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="kamal-haasan">Kamal Haasan</keyword>’s attack on Godse met with a severe backlash from Hindu fundamentalists.</li><li>In 2019, India is debating whether the killer of <keyword id="6355532" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="mahatma-gandhi">Mahatma Gandhi</keyword> should be called a ‘terrorist’ or a ‘patriot’.</li><li>The heated debate has even engulfed apolitical corporates like Anand Mahindra, Chairman of The Mahindra Group.</li></ul>In his will, Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse, asked his family not to perform his last rites, until India is united with Pakistan again. In fact, his urn of ashes is passed on to his clan for safekeeping until his dream comes true. While Godse’s wish may remain unfulfilled, India’s politics has kept Gandhi’s killer relevant 71 years after his death. Rekindling the debate over his ‘patriotism’ is believed to help consolidate the majoritarian vote that can influence the election result. No wonder, the debate is peaking in India before the final polling day in the 2019 election for the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s Parliament. On May 13, debutante politician and famous actor Kamal Hassan raked this issue when he called Godse, “independent India’s first terrorist”. This comment was made from Hassan who was campaigning for his new-born political party, Makkal Needhi Mayyam, which fielded candidates in Tamil Nadu. What followed was a political stir that drew nearly everyone into the debate. <keyword id="58687" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharatiya-Janata-Party">Bharatiya Janata Party</keyword>’s (BJP) Bhopal candidate <keyword id="40663" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sadhvi-Pragya">Sadhvi Pragya</keyword> Thakur, hit back at Haasan and called Godse a ‘patriot’. “Nathuram Godse will be a deshbhakt (patriot) and will always be so. People who make comments on him, should introspect their own actions,”<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/nathuram-godse-was-a-deshbhakt-says-sadhvi-pragya-thakur/videoshow/69356645.cms"> she said</a>. However, Thakur retracted her statement after her party, the BJP, distanced itself from the comments, but the debate over Godse is still raging on. Hassan defended his <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/kamal-haasan-to-ndtv-on-his-remarks-on-nathuram-godse-not-intimidated-by-reactions-terrorists-abound-2038842">comment</a> even today and said, “terrorists are abound in every religion”. Interestingly, Haasan himself played the role of Saket Ram, who plots to kill Gandhi in the 1999 epic, Hey Ram, which details the protagonist’s journey from extremism to non-violence. Just when Saket Ram was discovering Gandhi’s glory in the fictional story, Nathuram Godse fires at the father of the nation. While the clash of rhetoric on social media is not surprising, someone threw slippers at Haasan for condemning Gandhi’s assassin. 
	<div type="twitter" handle="madhukishwar" handlename="MadhuPurnima Kishwar" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/957311651790831616/aPQe3swS_normal.jpg" favoritecount="6817" retweetcount="2796" status="Sure he murdered Gandhi but he didn't hit &amp; run. He surrendered &amp; faced the trial with heroic courage &amp; left a very… https://t.co/xQR2n1wKfH" createdat="1558019606000" id="1129042179316494336"></div>



 The political slug was to be expected but even industrialist Anand Mahindra, Chairman of The Mahindra Group, took a moment to express his exasperation. 
	<div type="twitter" handle="anandmahindra" handlename="anand mahindra" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1053583782584807425/-7IRmY5u_normal.jpg" favoritecount="21816" retweetcount="5922" status="For 75 yrs,India’s been the land of the Mahatma;a beacon when the world lost its morality.We used to be pitied for… https://t.co/bnp3pheiev" createdat="1558054211000" id="1129187320987447296"></div>



 Meanwhile, the Election Commission (EC) has sought a report from the Madhya Pradesh’s Chief Electoral Officer on Thakur’s comments<a href="https://www.thehindu.com/elections/lok-sabha-2019/pragya-singh-thakur-calls-nathuram-godse-a-patriot-bjp-disagrees/article27149158.ece"> on Thursday</a>. Patriot or not Godse has been a debated topic ever since he shot Gandhi in 1948 as the latter was returning from a prayer meet. The assassin had immediately surrendered, and reportedly, never showed any remorse for his actions. During the famous Red Fort trial, he wrote a long statement as a response to prosecution. This statement was later printed as a book, called “Why I assassinated Gandhi”. A ban of on the book was lifted in 1968. While Godse was hanged for his actions, his undying passion for a ‘Hindu state’ has its fans even now.

It’s 2019 and India is debating if the murder of Mahatma Gandhi was Godse’s ‘patriot act’

Check out the winning candidate list from MP Lok Sabha Seats

MP Lok Sabha Election Result 2019: BJP wins state with 28 seats

Complete list of BJP Member of Parliament with criminal cases or convictions

MP (Madhya Pradesh) Candidate list for Lok Sabha Election

<ul><li>A historic win will make Narendra Modi the first non-Congress Prime Minister to get re-elected.</li><li>This was the first time since 1984 a majority government has been re-elected.</li><li>Visit <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Business Insider India's home page</a> for more stories</li></ul>Narendra Modi has created history by becoming the first non-Congress Prime Minister to get re-elected in the 72 years of India's independence. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in 353 seats compared to its rival the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) that is ahead in 90 seats. The BJP made history even five years back when it clocked in a full majority, the first for any government since 1984. A full majority twice in a row is an even bigger feat for Modi and the BJP. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="evmBI28-4" msid="69466039" hostid="261"></div>



















 No single rival was fighting Modi to win on his/her own. A motley crew of former foes were waiting for the final tally before they could stitch a suitable coalition that would end Modi's reign. However, as the counting progressed on May 23, it became evident very early that the the room for any political manoeuvre was limited, and eventually, even that disappeared. The Indian National Congress, the only national party other than the BJP, nearly doubled its seat count in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's Parliament, but for Rahul Gandhi, Congress' President, could not escape the embarrassment of having lost a seat, Amethi, that was seen as family bastion for decades. A grand alliance of regional parties, led by Bahujan Samaj Party's Mayawati and Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav, pitched itself as an alternative to Modi's strongman vibe. However, the camaraderie failed to strike a chord with the voters of Uttar Pradesh-- India's most populous state that is home to these two parties. The music stopped for the Mahagathbandhan when hoards of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/narendra-modi-varanasi-up-lok-sabha-election-result-2019/articleshow/69455114.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">people in Varanasi</a> danced to Modi's tunes on April 25. The final result for the grand alliance were 15 Lok Sabha seats. Modi's rivals cried against the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-government-wants-you-to-believe-that-demonetisation-didnt-slow-down-the-economy/articleshow/67785050.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">whimsical demonetisation</a>, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/unemployment-in-india-is-at-its-highest-in-45-years-says-an-indian-daily-citing-an-undisclosed-jobs-survey/articleshow/67769020.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">peaking unemployment</a>, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/congress-promises-farm-loan-waiver-after-bjp-offers-minimum-income-support-in-budget-2019/articleshow/67827116.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">mounting farm distress</a>, and the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/patriot-act-godse-debate-kamal-haasan-vs-sadhvi-pragya-bjp/articleshow/69372552.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">uneasy polarisation</a>, but none of that left as much as a scratch on Modi's chances. Even the alleged scandal in the government deal to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets did not cut ice with the country's voters. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="rafalebi5" msid="69465705" hostid="261"></div>



















 The adolescent Indian democracy was looking for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/jlf-gandhi-vs-modi-bjp-vs-congress-dont-understand-indian-voters/articleshow/67685811.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">a Presidential clash</a> but the opposition could not nominate a powerful alternative to Modi. The writing was on the wall but the regional satraps and national figureheads continued playing hardball with each other, and the potential of a desperate <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-avengers-endgame-lesson-for-modi-rahul-gandhis-congress-and-mahagathbandhan/articleshow/69138766.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">anti-Modi coalition</a> was never fully realised. The momentum was so strong in Modi's favour that even the terror accused Sadhvi Pragya Thakur-- who was also reprimanded for calling <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/patriot-act-godse-debate-kamal-haasan-vs-sadhvi-pragya-bjp/articleshow/69372552.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse a 'patriot'</a>-- <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sadhvi-pragya-thakur-vs-dijvijaya-singh-bhopal-lok-sabha-election-results-2019/articleshow/69456794.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">won Bhopal with a huge margin</a>. The north-south divide The Modi wave was strong and pervasive but it limited largely to the north of India. The wave <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/exit-polls-2019-no-modi-wave-in-tamil-nadu-karnataka-kerala/articleshow/69402617.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">once again lost momentum</a> south of the Vindhya range of mountains, despite its best efforts. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="MODIWAVEBI26" msid="69465632" hostid="261"></div>



















 The BJP definitely improved its tally in Karnataka but it could not make any further headway into the other four major states-- Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. While the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) swept Tamil Nadu with 31 out of 39 seats, Jaganmohan Reddy's victory in Andhra Pradesh marked <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/ap-andhra-pradesh-assembly-elections-2019-jagan-reddys-win-marks-the-rise-of-the-prodigal-son/articleshow/69462170.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">the rise of the prodigal son</a>. Reddy's immediate neighbour to the west, K Chandrshekhar Rao successfully <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/telangana-lok-sabha-election-result-2019-trs-vs-congress-vs-tdp-vs-bjp/articleshow/69445813.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">protected his territory</a>, Telangana, for a second time in less than a year. Rao called for a premature assembly election in Telangana in 2018 and came out of it with flying colours. The only other place Modi faced <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-tmc-and-bjp-are-fighting-over-the-nrc-in-west-bengal/articleshow/69194392.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">any challenge was in West Bengal</a>. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mamata Banerjee did not pretend to play nice as BJP marched on to claim the eastern state. The clash of titans stirred the volatile electorate with a long history of violence. The BJP may have ended up second in the state but it bagged 18 precious seats that established the party as a serious player in the state for the first time ever. None of this was a surprise. BJP smelled the resentment against the local leadership in the east, and invested itself heavily. Modi himself addressed 17 rallies in Bengal, the most after Uttar Pradesh. The party cadre was funded and fuelled in Odisha and the north-eastern states and all of this paid off rich dividends, much on expected lines. Swinging states Six months earlier, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/here-are-some-reasons-why-indias-ruling-party-lost-to-its-main-rival-in-three-very-important-state-elections/articleshow/67057122.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">BJP had to face defeat in state elections</a> in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh. The party had just whisked past the halfway mark in Gujarat, Modi's home state. These results rejuvenated the Congress and, may be, made it a bit complacent too. Within six months, the same states swung back to voting for the BJP. In Modi's home state Gujarat, the BJP is leading in all 26 seats, in 9 out of 11 seats in Chhattisgarh, and in all but one seat in MP-- a stark contrast to the picture of struggle in the assembly elections in December. In Bihar too, the NDA is miles ahead of competition-- leading in 32 out of the state's 40 seats-- including in high-profile constituencies like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/kanhaiya-kumar-vs-giriraj-singh-begusarai-lok-sabha-election-result-2019/articleshow/69453161.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Begusarai</a> and Patna Sahib. Debutante politician Kanhaiya Kumar, from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has less than half the number of votes as rival from BJP, the veteran Giriraj Singh, who was also a minister in Modi's government. In Patna Sahib, sitting Parliamentarian Shatrughan Sinha is trailing Union Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who has over 55% of the votes. There 17 other candidates in this constituency. Congress' solace Congress is leading in Punjab and Kerala, while its biggest ally the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is cornering maximum votes in Tamil Nadu. In Kerala's Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi is ahead with 67% of the votes where there are 20 other candidates. It was a face saver for Gandhi as he lost the family bastion Amethi to the firebrand from BJP, Smriti Irani. India’s markets celebrated the results. The Sensex hit <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sensex-rallies-550-points-as-bjp-leads-convincingly-in-vote-counting/articleshow/69458099.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">the 40,000 mark for the first time ever</a> as investors hoped that the stability of continuing policies may the give the economy the much-needed fillip. His electoral feats and political might notwithstanding, those who care for it will blame Modi for demonetisation forever. Modi may have pitched himself as a pro-business reformer but experts have expressed fear that if he gets a second term, his policies are likely to be more socialist and akin to the proposals of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/19/opinion/india-elections-modi.html">Bernie Sanders in the US</a>, and not like the policies of Ronald Reagan. Nonetheless, the baton remains with Modi. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-election-results-fii-watch-narendra-modis-new-cabinet-and-policy-decisions/articleshow/69479558.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Foreign investors are thrilled about Modi's win but don't know what to expect from him</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international-leaders-are-already-congratulating-narendra-modi-for-victory-in-indias-general-election/articleshow/69461194.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Naveen Patnaik’s BJD leads in Assembly and Lok Sabha seats in early trends</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/ap-andhra-pradesh-assembly-elections-2019-jagan-reddys-win-marks-the-rise-of-the-prodigal-son/articleshow/69462170.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Jagan Reddy’s win marks the rise of the prodigal son</a>

You Searched For "Sadhvi Pragya" and got 8 results

Terrorism- accused Sadhvi Pragya Thakur leads with over 400,000 votes in Bhopal Lok Sabha seat

BI India Bureau

It’s 2019 and India is debating if the murder of Mahatma Gandhi was Godse’s ‘patriot act’

Katya Naidu

Check out the winning candidate list from MP Lok Sabha Seats

BI India Bureau

MP Lok Sabha Election Result 2019: BJP wins state with 28 seats

BI India Bureau

Complete list of BJP Member of Parliament with criminal cases or convictions

BI India Bureau

MP (Madhya Pradesh) Candidate list for Lok Sabha Election

BI India Bureau

Narendra Modi has retained India's iron throne and reduced rivals to dust

BI India Bureau

BJP winner candidate list for Lok Sabha Elections 2019

BI India Bureau

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides