BJP fields Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from Bhopal against Digvijay Singh of Congress
New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday fielded Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, facing trial in Malegaon blast case, in Lok Sabha elections from Bhopal seat, where she is set to have a direct contest with Congress heavyweight and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh.
Thakur, who is out on bail, had joined the BJP only hours before her name was announced as its candidate, underscoring the saffron party's attempt to bring the Hindutva plank at the centre stage of polls in the high profile constituency, which has been its bastion for many elections.
An NIA court had dropped charges against her under the stringent MCOCA but she and other co-accused are still facing other charges in the Malegaon case.
Among other candidates, K P Yadav will be the BJP nominee from Guna, which is held by senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia who is contesting again from here.
The BJP has named Raj Bahadur Singh and Ramakant Bhargav as its nominees from Sagar and Vidisha respectively.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had won from Vidisha in 2014 but she had announced that she will not fight polls this time due to health reasons.
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Stalin claims DMK secured 1.54 crore votes
Chennai (PTI): DMK president M K Stalin on Tuesday, in a veiled reference to the TVK, claimed that the party that won additional constituencies has gained only 17.43 lakh more votes than the DMK.
He was referring to the April 23 Assembly polls where the DMK and its allies secured 74 seats, with the Dravidian party netting 59 constituencies.
In a statement, Stalin said, "the percentage difference in votes between us and them is just 3.52 per cent," in an apparent reference to the Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kahzagam emerged victorious in the polls, the results of which were announced on Monday.
Claiming that the DMK alliance has secured 1.54 crore votes, Stalin said, "I consider each and every one of your votes as an invaluable token of trust".
Stating that DMK has been in power several times, he said "there is no victory we have not seen and there is no defeat we have not faced".
"Whether in victory or defeat, those who regard them equally and continue their journey toward their ideals are the comrades of the party", he said adding "you are the lifeblood and roots of the movement".
"The harvest of 1.54 crore votes is the fruit of your commitment", he said.
"What return can I offer for your hard work? With the feeling of being the chief worker, we will continue our journey," the DMK chief added.
Stalin said "if we are the ruling party, we will formulate schemes for the people. If we are the opposition party, we will fight for the people's demands. In that regard, now as a strong opposition party, we will continue to work for the people".
Asserting that the DMK will continue the journey of taking forward the policies of the century-old great Dravidian movement, protecting race, language, and nation, the DMK leader said "in our journey, I will not leave anyone behind. We will win again".
