Malini Gaur was in the spotlight recently, after a photograph of her alongside Sadhvi Pragya Singh — accused in the Malegaon blast case — came to light. Also in the photograph were BJP president Rajnath Singh and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The photograph was taken at a condolence meeting after her husband’s death last February.

While the photograph continues to turn up in political discussions in Delhi, Malini Gaur skips any mention of Pragya Singh in her campaign. She focuses on 67 measures that her husband had taken as Education Minister, including the “guru paada puja” (a ritual touching of teachers’ feet) on Teachers’ Day. “Sadhvi Pragya Singh is a tapasvi, she is a saint. That is why she is not an issue for us. It is an issue for the Congress government in Maharashtra,” she says .

The BJP in Madhya Pradesh plays down “terror”, but Congress leaders — who come down from Delhi — are breathing fire in Indore. Last Tuesday and Wednesday, senior leaders including former Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma and AICC minority cell chairman Imran-ur-Kidwai addressed three separate press conferences here on the “politicisation of terror”. While Kidwai sought to draw a parallel between “Al Qaeda terror” and “saffron terror”, Singh blamed the Sangh Parivar for other terror blasts.

With more than half-a-million Muslims, Indore is communally sensitive and forms part of the Malwa region, a traditional RSS stronghold. But given their scattered presence, varying from 15 to 20 per cent in the nine constituencies here, Muslims are the most neglected lot.

Sixtyfive-year-old Abdul Qadir of Bombay Bazar no longer rues the fact that not a single candidate contesting from Indore-4 constituency has visited the area yet. Bombay Bazar is estimated to have around 20,000 Muslims. “We don’t expect Malini Gaur to come; even Laxman Singh Gaur never came here. And the Congress candidate knows our votes are secure whether he comes or not,” he says.

Notwithstanding the Congress’ attempt to corner the BJP on “terror”, the issue has failed to gain ground in Indore. Fearing a possible backlash by the majority community, even local Congress candidates seem wary of raising the issue.

Congress candidate from Indore-5, Shobha Ojha, focuses on roads, water, sanitation, schools. “The BJP is anti-minority and I don’t need to state the obvious. I would rather focus on development,” she said on Thursday.

Even the advertising war between the Congress and BJP focuses on “development”. On Thursday, a BJP advertisement in major dailies described how electricity generation in the state increased in the five years of the BJP regime. On the same page, the Congress advertisement with Rahul Gandhi’s photograph claimed that with the “international nuclear deal”, electricity would reach every village.