Bhopal: Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur of BJP defeated Congress nominee Digvijay Singh with around 3,64,324 votes in the Bhopal Lok Sabha elections, probably due to the polarization of votes. Bhopal candidate had taken a lead against Congress party veteran in initial counting and the lead continued till end. Thakur who managed to polarised atmosphere in Bhopal, a saffron hub since 1989, took an early lead against Singh after the counting begun in the state capital. However, things did not look too bright for the two-time Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh as the Sanyasan, an accused in 2008 Malegaon blast case, raced past him and took a lead of over 69,000 votes by around noon.

Contesting her maiden poll, Thakur a former ABVP activist was considered a no match for Singh but she gained ground as the campaigning progressed and she raked up sentiments with her stinging takes.

Though Thakur did not have much time to undertake campaigning properly, she did turned heads with her takes on Hemant Karkare, Babri Demolition and her custodial torture. The 49-year-old had proudly boasted her role in Babri demolition of 1993.

She had raked up a major trouble while claiming that late Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare had tortured her immensely in custody in order to frame her in Malegoan blast case. The firebrand sadhvi had even claimed Karkare was killed by the terrorists due to her curse.

Singh, who had his own past to counter in this poll, was battling his pro-minority image and was seen in his religious avtar throughout the campaigning.

He even got hundreds of seers under Computer Baba, a controversial saint of Madhya Pradesh, to do a yagna and roadshow for him in Bhopal. However, Singh could not win government staffers who expressed widespread resentment against him over anti-employee policies of his government prior to 2003.