Devendra Fadnavis ‘Vote Jihad’ remark attracts Opposition criticism 

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ “Vote Jihad” remark triggered a political storm in Maharashtra on Tuesday (October 1, 2024), with the Opposition accusing him of violating his constitutional oath as a Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. 

A day after Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis raked up the “vote jihad” issue and blamed it as a reason for the BJP’s poor show in the Lok Sabha election 2024 during an event in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur District on Monday, opposition slammed him for making insensitive comments and accused his government of using divisive tactics to hide their failures. 

Also Read: Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis is ‘Maratha hater’, alleges Jarange-Patil

Citing the examples of Dhule and Malegaon seats, Mr. Fadnavis said, “Vote Jihad was seen atleast in 14 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats, where people of a particular community unitedly defeated Hindutvawadi Candidates.” 

Condemning Home Minister’s Vote Jihad remark, Congress Leader Nana Patole said, “He should apologise to Maharashtra for disrespecting the values of equality. It is shameful as these words were not his personal opinions but reflect his position as Home Minister.” 

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut questioned him, “Isn’t marriage with corrupt people also a vote jihad? Further added, “You are in alliance with Eknath Shinde, who did a scam of 70,000 crores and his 40 MLA, who also are corrupted. Should I say this is vote jihad?” 

Meanwhile, Prakash Ambedkar also took a jibe at Mr. Fadnavis and said, “If you call Muslim votes, vote jihad, you are also doing vote Jihad of Hindu votes. What is the difference between the both?”