'Chowkidar' to khaki underwear: abuses, epithets and insults galore this election

Reopening wounds, referencing popular culture to deliver insults and sexist jibes, it was all par for the electoral course in a season that tumbled to a name-calling close in a medley of chowkidar', bhrashtachari', Aurangzeb, Mogambo and more.

It was not about one party or one politician in the just concluded electoral season of many an epithet, making it difficult to determine whether it was tongues that were sharper or the minds behind the campaigns.

The humble watchman came into prominence with Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his party making 'chowkidar chor hai' the centre of their campaign to hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The BJP was quick to react and ran a 'main bhi chowkidar' campaign to counter the grand old party.

There was some humour but mostly vitriol as the war of words hit new lows through the seven-phase elections that ended on Sunday.

Malegaon blast accused and BJP's Bhopal candidate Pragya Singh Thakur's remarks targeting Mumbai attacks martyr Hemant Karkare and referring to Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse as a patriot reopened chapters of hurt, contemporary and historical.

Thakur alleged that Karkare, who was killed along with two other senior police officers while fighting terrorists during the 26/11 attacks, falsely implicated her in the blast case.

"He died of his karma. I told him, he will be destroyed. I told him his entire dynasty will be erased," Thakur said.

Sharp criticism from across the political spectrum, including her own party, led to her issuing an apology.

Thakur's comments on Godse, followed by remarks from two other BJP leaders, also led to a reprimand from the party and the prime minister saying he would not be able to forgive her.

Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and his one-time party colleague Jaya Prada, who recently joined the BJP and was contesting against him in Rampur, were engaged in a bitter and unseemly verbal spat.

Addressing an election rally, Khan said, "I brought her (Jaya Prada) to Rampur. It took you 17 years to identify her real face but I got to know in 17 days that she wears khaki underwear."
At a rally in Uttar Pradesh, Modi attacked Rahul Gandhi and said, "Your father was termed Mr Clean by his courtiers, but his life ended as bhrashtachari (corrupt) no 1."