KHAJURAHO: Shortly after sunrise, as Khajuraho monuments - the

world heritage site - open to a steady of flow of tourists, 27-year-old hotelier Anjul and his Russian wife Sveta are finalizing itineraries for more such backpackers.

A few hundred metres from them tourist guide Uday Chandel and his Korean wife Choi are anxiously awaiting next foodies to sink their teeth at their restaurant Annapurna for gastronomical highs.

There are at least 55-odd foreign women staying in Khajuraho, who have married locals, and pin hopes on strengthening the tourism industry here. Their worry is that fundamentalist groups should not destroy the sculptures and idols of erotica in Khajuraho. "I came alone six years ago as a young tourist to see Khajuraho. I am fond of Modi. I see a lot of promise in the current government. There's a change in the way roads have been developed and ease of business for hotels like ours to get commercial license," said Sveta, 23, who can't vote but said that she would egg on her husband Anjul Singh to cast his vote.

Many of these foreign bahus and their kids are happy that the atmosphere in the town is still conducive. "There was a time when I was called Chinese by locals just because my mother is Korean. But in Khajuraho, the bonding has been so thick between locals. There has been no disturbance in the last 15 years," says Choi Haneul, 16, who intends to take her father's business ahead.

There is a section of those who rally behind local Khajuraho king

alias Nati Raja, who is a Congress MLA from Rajnagar, as the royal family owns a lot of commercial complex where locals have set up their plush business. His wife Kavita Singh is contesting as a

candidate from Khajuraho.

"Some of the locals here still owe allegiance to Raja saheb and his wife Kavita is chairman of the civic body," said Satendra Shrivastava, a Khajuraho historian, as he points at a structure that has shades of Sikhism,

Hinduism

,

Buddhism

and Islam in its architecture. However, as BJP has replaced the sitting MP Nagendra Singh and replaced him with a Brahmin face B D Sharma, considering the prominence of Brahmins in the region.