Ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections on October 21, the BJP has proposed that the country's highest civilian honour be given to Mahatma Phule, Savitribai Phule and Veer Savarkar. If the first two were social reformers who worked relentlessly to uplift the lower castes, the last one was a Hindutva ideologue and a freedom fighter who also supported the birth of a casteless Hinduism.

"The saffron party is making the right noises. Phule and Savitribai are seen as icons by many lower castes. On the other hand, Savarkar is a demi-God for the Hindu right-wingers. It would be a fantastic combination," a commentator says.

Subramanian Swamy, the BJP leader, has said that BJP has plans to give Bharat Ratna to Savarkar for sure.

Says another commentator, "During Modi's first term, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Vajpayee, Pranab Mukherjee, Nanaji Deshmukh and Bhupen Hazarika were given BRs. The second term too might see three or even five announcements."