BJP takes big lead in MP, Pragya says victory of 'dharma'

 In a major setback to the Congress, the BJP has taken a massive lead in 28 out of the 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, with Malegaon blast accused and BJP candidate from Bhopal, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, on Thursday thanking voters for their support.

Speaking to the media outside the BJP office here, she said: "Dharm ki jeet hogi, adharm ka nash hoga (it will be victory of faith and defeat of those who are against it)."

She also thanked the party workers and people of Bhopal for supporting her in the entire election campaign.

The counting of ballots started at 8 a.m. in 51 district headquarters of the state's 29 parliamentary constituencies. 

Sadhvi Pragya took a big lead against her nearest rival former Chief Minister and Congress candidate Digvijaya Singh by over 70,000 votes.

Besides Digvijaya Singh, Congress senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia was also trailing from his Guna Lok Sabha seat by over 53,000 votes.

The only good news for the Congress came from Chhindwara where Chief Minister Kamal Nath's son Nakul Kamal Nath was leading by over 34,000 votes.

The Congress came to power in the state last December after it won the state Assembly elections against the Bharatiya Janata Party. IANS