Shiv Sena UBT’s Sanjay Raut on Thursday questioned Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over his claim that “vote jihad” was prevalent in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Retaliating to Fadnavis’s comments, Raut mentioned that it was fine with the BJP if the “Muslims, Jains, Hindus, Parsis, vote for them” and asked whether Fadnavis wanted to divide the nation.
“What is vote jihad? Citizens of this country are Muslims, Jains, Hindus, Parsis, if they vote for you (BJP) then it is okay… Why did you (BJP) bring the Triple Talaq law for Muslim women? We came to know that people from Gujarat vote for BJP in Maharashtra…People from other sections of the society also vote for them…Do people like Devendra Fadnavis want to break this country again?” ANI quoted Raut as saying.
While addressing a public event in Kolhapur city, Devendra Fadnavis targeted the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and claimed that “vote jihad” was witnessed in 14 out of 48 constituencies in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha elections. During his speech, Fadnavis also pointed out instances wherein women were tricked into inter-faith marriage and subsequently abandoned after they gave birth to children.
“Vote jihad was seen in Lok Sabha elections. In the Dhule constituency, the BJP candidate led with 1.90 lakh votes in five assembly seats. However, our candidate trailed by 1.94 lakh votes because of voting in the Malegaon Central assembly segment, losing the election by just 4,000 votes,” PTI quoted Fadnavis as saying on October 1.
Sanjay Raut’s remarks on the controversy are the latest in a series of objections the opposition party leaders raised against Fadnavis’s statement. Many even demanded an apology from the BJP.
Criticising Devendra Fadnavis for his remarks, Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole on Wednesday said, “Devendra Fadnavis should be ashamed…He is the home minister of the state and holds a constitutional post…Devendra Fadnavis himself wants to do the same cheap politics that the BJP does by making such statements and fighting on the basis of religion during elections…Congress demands that Devendra Fadnavis should apologise to the people of the state (for his statement).”
