Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: As campaign nears its end, war of words breaks out between MVA, Mahayuti over 'vote jihad'

Speaking to reporters in Pune, the 83-year-old politician left it to the people to respond to Deputy CM and NCP chief Ajit Pawar over his remarks that he would be in the next line of leadership after the senior Pawar.

Mumbai: As campaign for the Maharashtra polls nears end, an intense war-of-words have started between the ruling BJP-led MahaYuti and the opposition Congress-headed Maha Vikas Aghadi vis-a-vis the stand of noted Islamic scholar Khalil-ur-Rahman Sajjad Nomani, the spokesperson of All India Muslim Personal Law Board. 

Nomani has appealed to members of the Muslim community to vote in favour of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which has rattled the Maha Yuti.

BJP’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the state Home Minister, yet again on Saturday, described it as vote-jihad and urged people to defeat them through dharma-yuddha. 

“The MVA and Congress together are doing extreme polarization in the Muslim community and they are trying to win this election through that. But MahaYuti will definitely answer them,” Fadnavis told reporters in Nagpur. 

BJP’s leader and former MP Dr Kirit Somaiya has filed a complaint with the Election Commission. 

“Maulana Nomani, in a hate speech, is asking Muslims for a social boycott of BJP supporters…he also appealed for vote jihad to defeat BJP,” Somaiya said. 

Speaking further, Fadnavis said: “In the video that has come out, he is calling to find and boycott those who supported BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. He further calls for vote jihad and says that our leaders for vote jihad are (NCP (SP) supremo) Sharad Pawar, (Shiv Sena (UBT) head) Uddhav Thackeray and (Congress leader) Rahul Gandhi (who is Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha)…what kind of politics is going on? We have never seen this kind of polarization in politics before. Congress and its allies, due to the panic of defeat, are trying to bring forward such ideas that divide the society and the country."

Pawar, a former four-time Maharashtra Chief Minister, however, said that the BJP is trying to give communal colour to the polls.

“It was Fadnavis who had brought up vote jihad, referring to minorities favouring the opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi in a few constituencies during the Lok Sabha elections. If in one area of Pune where Hindus are in the majority and they vote for the BJP, it is common knowledge that this outcome was expected. That does not mean it is vote jihad….Fadnavis and his colleagues are trying to give a religious colour to this election. We are completely against it."

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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