In 2003, a young, firebrand Bhagwa-clad sadhvi Uma Bharti had swept to power with a landslide win in Madhya Pradesh.However, the firebrand sanyasin had to step down in 2004, following an arrest warrant issued by a court in connection to the Hubli riots case.Eighteen years on, she is still trying to regain the lost political ground in her party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Madhya Pradesh.RECENT GIMMICKBharti’s recent populist gimmick, where she stepped inside a liquor shop in Barkheda Pathani area in Bhopal on Sunday afternoon and hurled a stone at liquor bottles, breaking several of them, has got mixed reactions.1) बरखेड़ा पठानी आझाद नगर, बीएचईएल भोपाल , यहाँ मज़दूरों की बस्ती में शराब की दुकानों की शृंखला हैं जो की एक बड़े आहाता में लोगों को शराब परोसते हैं । pic.twitter.com/dNAXrh1jRY— Uma Bharti (@umasribharti) March 13, 2022While some lauded the move, others questioned why she did not take up the issue with the authorities instead.The Congress was quick to appreciate her. MPCC media cell in charge Jitu Patwari was the first to react on Bharti’s video saying, “At least there is someone who walks the talk in the BJP.”Bharti has been demanding liquor prohibition in her home state for the past one-and-a-half years. The party, however, has only offered moral support to her campaign so far and suggested social awareness to end the “menace”.In her trademark style, she has altered her stance on the issue after first announcing a liquor ban demand in 2020. She had vowed to kick up a campaign in 2021 on Women’s Day, but only engaged in discussions when the day arrived.Many believe that on the political sidelines for long, especially after not contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, she lost favour with the party high command. Itching to get back to political mainstream, liquor prohibition seems a favorable issue for her.“It’s an open secret that liquor sale can’t be scrapped overnight in a state like MP, which depends heavily on excise revenue,” a senior journalist told News18.com.FLIP-FLOPSThe manner in which the short-tempered sadhvi had an outburst against then party chief LK Advani in 2005 and received expulsion, only to return to the party fold in 2011, her Sunday’s stunt hardly surprised anyone.Recently, she was caught on camera saying bureaucracy was nothing and was only meant to carry the slippers of politicians. Soon, she backtracked and issued a clarification.“Bharti is persisting with her gimmicks to exert pressure on the party,” a senior political analyst said.In the past, Bharti had cornered her party’s government in MP on issues including women safety, OBC quota and others. However, recently, she was seen praising chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.Aside from a party star campaigner in bypolls, Bharti is not included in the BJP’s affairs in MP or nationally. However, during the organizational appointments and political appointments in boards and corporations, Bharti’s supporters have been accommodated by the BJP.The former kathavachak has often expressed willingness to return to the Lok Sabha and on occasions, has announced she would contest the 2024 elections. A senior journalist from Bhopal said, “Given the fact she has apparently lost favour with the central leadership in the past as well, and the incumbent top leadership enjoying sizable backing of the Hindutva brigade, Bharti’s relevance as a Hindutva icon has reduced.”Read all minute-by-minute news updates for Uttar Pradesh election results 2022, Punjab election results 2022, Uttarakhand election results 2022, Manipur election results 2022, and Goa election results 2022.Click here for seat-wise LIVE result updates.