One of the most keenly watched polls in the country, Bhopal saw a voter turnout of 65.69% by 10pm, as per the Voter Turnout app of the Election Commission of India, amid deployment of heavy police and para-military force. In 2014, the turnout was 57.7%. With the Bharatiya Janata Party fielding Pragya Thakur against Congress veteran leader and former chief minister of the state Digvijaya Singh, it was a prestige battle for both parties. Clashes were reported from a few booths. An argument broke out between Bhopal mayor and BJP leader Alok Sharma and minister for minority affairs Arif Aqueel’s brother which caused conflict between party workers. Sharma alleged that Congress workers at the DIG Bungalow polling booth, led by Aqueel’s brother, did not allow BJP workers to maintain impartiality while polling. The BJP, which won 27 of the 29 seats in the state in the last Lok Sabha election, and was in power in the state since 2003, lost to the Congress in the 2018 state elections. Also Read | Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Big jump in voter turnout, Rajgarh leads in MP Thakur, an accused under the terror law for the 2008 Malegaon serial blasts, was the BJP’s choice to fight against Singh, to prove the point that there is no such thing as ‘Hindu terror’. She courted much controversy during her campaign, when she said that former Anti Terror Squad Mumbai chief, Hemant Karkare (who investigated the Malegoan blasts) died during the 26/11 attacks in the city, due to her “curse”. She later apologized for her remarks against the national hero. She also faced a 72-hour ban by the EC for her statements, which the opposition alleged she broke. If Hindutva was Thakur’s pitch, Singh, on his part focused on development, although he too appealed to the religious-minded with visits to temples and public prayers. Bahujan Samaj Party’s Madho Singh Ahirwar was also one of the candidates in the fray. Bhopal is one of eight seats that polled on Sunday, including the Gwalior-Chambal region that comprises four constituencies; the remaining eight seats will vote on May 19, which is the last phase of polling of the ongoing general elections. The BJP has been winning this seat in the general elections since 1989.<doc-sep>Bhopal: The Bhopal parliamentary seat has recorded highest ever turnout in 40 years – a whopping 65.65% – after high-voltage electioneering on both the sides. The turnout was higher by 8% than that in 2014 – which marked the culmination of the so-called Modi wave. In 2014, Bhopal had recorded 57.79% voting, while it was 44.69% in 2009 general elections. The last time polling crossed 60% was in 1999 when Uma Bharti was BJP’s Bhopal candidate. The fight between Congress’s senior leader Digvijaya Singh and BJP’s Hindutva hardliner and terror attack-accused Pragya Thakur not only kept the state capital riveted, but also grabbed national headlines ahead of the polling. It is worth mentioning that neither PM Narendra Modi nor Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi campaigned in Bhopal for the candidates, nor has any other senior member from either party. Singh campaigned for development, and released a booklet on his vision for Bhopal, while Thakur released her own manifesto for the city towards the fag end of her campaign. But electioneering here was mostly about varying shades of saffron — Pragya calling it a ‘Dharm Yuddh’, saying she was “proud of helping raze Babri Masjid”, and Digvijaya Singh visiting temples and getting the support of hundreds of sadhus led by Computer Baba. While casting his vote, one of the retired officials, Rajendra Solanki, told NewsClick, “In 70 years of my life, I have never seen Digvijaya Singh as mature as he is now. His campaign was better organised than any candidate.” There were long queues across the city from as early as 7.10 am. The day temperature was 40.7 degree Celsius, but even in the scorching May afternoon, polling was brisk, and by 1 pm, it had reached an impressive 35%. Bhopal Madhya and Bhopal Uttar were slow to start, but picked up pace in the late afternoon. Rashtiya Swayamsevak Sangh volunteers went from door to door on the polling day, urging people to vote. Berasia and Sehore assembly segments recorded the highest turnout throughout the day — Sehore 77% and Berasia over 76%. Bhopal North (66.65%), Narela (64.9%) and Huzur (67.6%) assembly areas also registered significant increase in turnout. Despite unpleasant weather and ongoing Ramadan, Muslims voted in large numbers, as two minority voter-dominated seats, Bhopal North and Bhopal Madhya, recorded 66.65% and 59.55% voter turnout respectively. Bhopal parliamentary constituency has 21 lakh voters. "It is the toughest fight ever for the Bhopal seat. Even after the polling, no one can say who is winning," said senior journalist Ashutosh Shukla. In 2014, BJP's Alok Sanjar had won with a margin of more than 3 lakh votes. "It is difficult for the Congress to fill this margin but both the camps are hopeful of victory." Shukla added. Senior journalist Rakesh Dixit believes that minority votes are a plus point for the Congress. "There are 4.7 lakh minority voters, and they have cast their votes unanimously for the Congress despite the heat and ongoing Ramadan, as the official figures suggest. But the fight is neck and neck." BJP winning 20 seats, Congress 16: Internal report Chief Minister Kamal Nath and All India Congress Committee general secretary Jyotiradiya Scindia have been claiming victory from 25 seats, while the BJP leaders including former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan are saying that the party will win all the seats. However, BJP’s internal report suggests that the party will win from 20 seats. Congress’ internal report talks about winning 16 seats. In Madhya Pradesh, out of 29 seats in total, the election for 21 seats has been concluded. Remaining eight seats will go to polls in the last phase of election, on May 19. The BJP’s report predicts a close contest with Congress in Ratlam, Dhar, Sidhi and Balaghat. Congress is said to be stronger in Chhindwara, Guna, Gwalior and Satna. Here’s what both the parties’ assessments predict: BJP’s assessment Winning - Bhopal, Vidisha, Sagar, Rewa, Shahdol, Mandla, Jabalpur, Khajuraho, Tikamgarh, Damoh, Indore, Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Betul, Hoshangabad, Morena, Bhind, Khandwa and Khargone. Close contest - Ratlam, Dhar, Sidhi and Balaghat. Losing - Chhindwara, Guna, Gwalior and Satna. Congress’s assessment Winning - Bhopal, Chhindwara, Guna, Gwalior, Morena, Mandla, Balaghat, Satna, Sidhi, Ratlam, Dhar, Dewas, Khajuraho, Rajgarh, Khargone and Indore. Tough fight - Jabalpur, Damoh, Sagar, Mandsaur, Ujjain, Khandwa and Betul. Losing - Bhind, Vidisha, Rewa, Hoshangabad, Shahdol and Tikamgarh<doc-sep>The state of Madhya Pradesh (MP) is voting for 8 parliamentary seats in phase 6 of Lok Sabha elections 2019 today. A total of 59 parliamentary constituencies across 7 states have gone to polls in this phase with the final results to be announced on May 23. Voting will happen in Morena, Bhind, Gwalior, Guna, Sagar, Vidisha, Bhopal and Rajgarh for Lok Sabha election 2019. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress are in the fray in these constituencies. BJP had won 27 of 29 seats in MP in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Also Read:Lok Sabha election 2019 Phase 6: Delhi votes today for 7 Lok Sabha seats Meanwhile, the Congress which wrested power from the BJP in the state in the Assembly elections held in December 2018 is hopeful of repeating the same victory in Lok Sabha election 2019. The state poses a big challenge for BJP as it had lost power in MP after 15 years in the Assembly elections last year. Also Read: Lok Sabha Election 2019: Poll dates, full schedule, voting FAQs, election results, constituencies' details The issues of farm and rural distress are dominant in the state. The constituency of Bhopal is the most keenly watched as Digvijaya Singh of the Congress is in the fray against Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur of BJP who is an accused in 2008 Malegaon blast case. In Guna, Jyotiraditya Scindia from Congress is seeking another term. He has been representing this Lok Sabha seat in the parliament since 2002. He is up against KP Yadav from BJP. Yadav was Scindia's aide till January 2018. Also Read: Lok Sabha Election 2019 Phase 6 LIVE updates: Voting begins; 7 seats in Delhi up for grabs The Morena Lok Sabha constituency is also the birthplace of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and has been the BJP's stronghold. The party has fielded Narendra Singh Tomar against Congress's Ram Niwas Rawat from here. Sandhya Rai of BJP is standing against Devasish Jararia of Congress from Bhind. Vivek Sejwalkar of BJP is up against Ashok Singh of Congress in Gwalior. Also Read: Lok Sabha Election 2019 Phase 6: UP votes today; BJP, Cong, SP-BSP to fight for 14 Lok Sabha seats Mukesh Jain Dhana of BJP is in the fray against Prabhu Singh Thakur of Congress in Sagar Lok Sabha constituency. Sushma Swaraj who is the incumbent BJP MP from Vidisha seat has made way for Ramakant Bhargav to take on Shailendra Patel of Congress. Furthermore, sitting MP Rodmal Nagar from BJP is fighting against Mona Sustani of Congress. Also Read: Lok Sabha election 2019 Phase 6: West Bengal to vote for 8 Lok Sabha seats Also Read: Lok Sabha Election 2019 Phase 6: Here's how to vote without voter ID, check polling booth details<doc-sep>The electoral tussle in Bhopal was expected to be much beyond a simple political fight. The electoral tussle in Bhopal was expected to be much beyond a simple political fight. With the controversial Digvijaya Singh in the fray as the Congress candidate, it was always going to be a referendum on his credentials as a Hindu. It was no surprise that BJP promptly fielded Hindutva firebrand Sadhvi Pragya Thakur to take him on. Given Digvijaya's past record of aggressive pro-Muslim rhetoric, the party's game plan was to polarise votes along the Hindu-Muslim divide. However, it appears that the shrewd politician anticipated this beforehand. His recent moves suggest he had his own plan in place to counter the BJP's and eventually neutralise any possible Hindu polarisation against him. Consider these facts: — On Wednesday, a large number of sadhus and sants in saffron robes participated in a rally lead by ‘Computer Baba’ (Namdeo Das Tyagi) in the city with Digvijaya’s support. — Extending his support and claiming that Digvijaya would win, Mahamandaleswar Swami Vairagyananda has begun a havan (a ritual burning of offerings) with five quintal of red chillies. He announced that he would visit homes to solicit support for the leader. — Last year, Digvijaya completed the long-winding Narmada Yatra, a ritual of great religious significance to Hindus, building rapport among villagers along the holy river. — He is an ardent devotee of Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopananda Saraswati, a revered figure among Hindus and has his blessings for the elections. Going by the evidence on hand, Digvijaya is playing the Hindu card deftly to challenge Sadhvi Pragya. It may still not be enough to assuage the Hindus whom he might have hurt through his statements, but as an electoral strategy, it makes sense. To begin with, according to people familiar to him, he was always been a devout Hindu, contrary to his public image. The two-term chief minister of Madhya Pradesh had earlier said in public that in Raghogarh (town in Madhya Pradesh from where Digvijaya hails), there were many temples and he used to visit those regularly. During his tenure as chief minister (1993-2003), he used to visit Pandharpur in Maharashtra every year during a particular period (Ashadhi Ekadashi) and built dharmashalas for the devotees, and won hearts of a large number of Maharashtrians living in Madhya Pradesh. But Digvijaya’s preparation to re-launch himself afresh without making any hue and cry about it began in 2017, when he went on the Narmada Yatra and covered 3,300 kilometers by foot in six months. Being the longest west-flowing river and one among the five holy rivers of India, a parikrama of Narmada is considered a formidable spiritual exercise in Hinduism. As per the tradition, one circumambulates from the source (Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh) to the Arabian Sea in Gujarat and back to the source – an exercise undertaken for spiritual purification and for the fulfillment of wishes. Narmada is the only river whose parikrama is done. By undertaking Narmada Parikrama, Digvijaya made his soft Hindutva stand stronger. And now, he has garnered support and blessings of seers in large numbers. “Had Pragya Thakur not contested against him, perhaps he wouldn’t have rallied sadhus in his favour. This is Digvijaya Singh’s desperate move to stall polarisation of Hindu votes. Now instead of soft Hindutva, he’s aggressively displaying that he’s no less a devout Hindu,” senior journalist and political commentator Abhilash Khandekar told Firstpost. A big challenge When the Congress fielded party veteran Digvijaya from Bhopal, the political pundits questioned whether it was a bold or suicidal move by the party. After all, the saffron party has been invincible in this constituency since 1989. This contest is the biggest challenge in Digvijaya's career. If he wins, his stature is sure to grow by several notches. If he loses, it might be the beginning of the end for him. There are a couple of factors in Diggy raja’s (as he’s often addressed) favour. First, the results in three of the eight Assembly segments of the Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency in election last year were encouraging for the Congress. The party won the Bhopal Madhya (Arif Masood), Bhopal Uttar (Arif Aqueel) and Bhopal Dakshin-Paschim (PC Sharma) constituencies with 53.20 percent, 58.77 percent and 49.14 percent vote shares respectively. In the remaining five seats, the BJP witnessed a dip in its margin. Second, there is a significant Muslim vote bank in this constituency. Out of 20 lakh voters, nearly five lakh are Muslims. Third, Singh, who has been the chief minister for two terms, is a tall leader in the party, and is the only one who can take up this challenge, due to his large network and following. He is considered more rooted in the state compared to chief minister Kamal Nath and another senior leader, Jyotiraditya Scindia, who had to face the ‘outsider’ tag. According to analysts, Digvijaya is expected to get 70 percent of votes from three Congress-dominated seats and 25-30 percent from remaining five. On the other hand, it took pretty long for the BJP to announce its candidate for Bhopal, and finally, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur was fielded. “There’s no doubt about Digvijayaji’s victory from Bhopal seat. No polarisation will help the BJP, as Bhopal is known for its ‘Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (Ganga-Yamuna culture)', where Hindus and Muslims can’t be divided like BJP thinks. Digvijayaji has received a lot of support on social media,” said Amit Soni, vice president, IT and social media cell, Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee. Saffron vs saffron Now, the Bhopal seat has turned into a fierce ‘saffron versus saffron’ battle of sorts. The saffron hue is visible in both BJP and Congress camps. The polling for this seat is on 12 May. According to the BJP sources, the party is confident of its victory and Digvijaya’s aggressive Hindutva stand won’t deter the core vote bank of the saffron party. Many of the sadhus who had participated in Digvijaya’s ritual have now claimed that they were tricked to be a part of the ‘support team’. Several videos supporting the claim have recently surfaced.<doc-sep>
Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency: Election in Bhopal parliamentary constituency is going to be one of the most closely watched Lok Sabha contests as its Congress' senior leader and former state chief minister Digvijaya Singh, who is up against BJP's Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur. The election here is going to take place on May 12 in the sixth phase of the parliamentary election. The polling in the 6th phase of Lok Sabha election will be held in 59 constituencies across 7 states. Results will be declared on May 23. The contest in Bhopal is certainly going to be one of the most important elections in 2019. For both the parties — BJP and Congress — a win or loss in Bhopal will be an answer for many questions. Candidates of both the parties are invoking religious sentiments of the people and almost proceeding ahead with a similar style of campaign to lure voters. For Sadhvi Pragya, an accused in 2008 Malegaon blast case and is out on bail, said that it's a 'dharma yudha' for her to contest against Digvijaya Singh. On the other hand, for Digvijaya Singh, reports say that it wasn't a natural selection for him but since CM Kamal Nath wanted him to contest from a tough seat, he is contesting from Bhopal. Going by previous elections results, Congress has not registered a win here in the past 30 years and is considered as a BJP bastion. To intensify the campaign, BJP president Amit Shah, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Sadhvi Pragya held a roadshow in the city of lakes hoping to add a boost to Sadhvi Pragya's campaign. While Digvijaya Singh was seen marching with sadhus on the city streets with the support of hundreds of Sadhus. The march was led by former BJP leader Namdeo Das Tyagi aka Computer Baba. There are a total of 19.5 lakh voters in Bhopal, out of which, 3.5 lakh Brahmins, 2 lakh Kayastha, 4.5 lakh are Dalits, 4 lakh are Muslims and 1.25 lakh Kshatriyas. Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency has a total of 8 assembly segments which include Berasia (SC), Bhopal Uttar, Narela, Bhopal Dakshin-Paschim, Bhopal Madhya, Govindpura, Huzur and Sehore. Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency 2019 candidates BJP: Sadhvi Pragya Singh ThakurCongress: Digvijaya Singh Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency results in 2014, 2009 and 2004 2014 Winning candidate: Alok Sanjar (BJP) Losing candidate: PC Sharma (Congress) 2009 Winning candidate: Kailash Joshi (BJP) Losing candidate: Surendra Singh Thakur (Congress) 2004 Winning candidate: Kailash Joshi (BJP) Losing candidate: Sajid Ali (Congress) Elections in 29 Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh is being held in 4 phases, out of which, two phases have already taken place on April 29 (4th phase) — on 6 seats and May 06 (5th phase) — on 7 seats. The polling on remaining 16 seats will be held on: May 12 (6th phase): Bhind, Bhopal, Guna, Gwalior, Morena, Rajgarh, Sagar, Vidisha (8 seats) May 19: (7th phase): Dewas, Dhar, Indore, Khandwa, Khargone, Mandsour, Ratlam, Ujjain (8 seats) In 2014, riding on Modi wave, the BJP bagged 27 out of the total 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh while only 2 seats were won by the Congress party. The voter turnout in the first and second phases of Madhya Pradesh Lok Sabha polls 2019 stood at 66.68% and 69% respectively. Out of 29 Lok Sabha seats, 4 have been reserved for Scheduled Castes and 6 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes in Madhya Pradesh. Role of Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2018 results The BJP which was ruling the state for the past three terms lost to Congress in 2018 assembly election. Out of total 230 assembly seats, BJP won 109 and Congress bagged 114, forming the government in the state. While BJP's loss was due to anti-incumbency and other factors, it still managed to win over 100 seats and was only a few seats short to once again form the government in the state. It would be interesting to see whether assembly election 2018 result would matter to lower BJP's tally in Lok Sabha election or will it be once that Modi wave will help the party to bag maximum number of seats in 2019. Lok Sabha election 2019 is being held in 7 phases. Voting in the first five phases have already taken place. The remaining two phases will vote on May 12 (6th phase) and May 19 (7th phase). Counting of votes will take place on May 23.