Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the fielding of Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the Malegaon blasts case, as the BJP candidate from Bhopal was a symbolic answer to all those who labelled the rich Hindu civilisation as "terrorist" and asserted that "this symbol will prove costly for the Congress".

Thakur joined the BJP on Wednesday and will be contesting from Bhopal. He said the Congress worked with a certain modus operandi to create false narratives on incidents such as the Samjhauta Express blasts and the death of judge BH Loya.