Maharashtra polls: Fadnavis brings up ‘vote jihad’, ‘dharma yudh’ in Versova

MUMBAI: Soon after returning from Nagpur on Monday, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis campaigned for Mahayuti candidates Bharti Latkar and Vidya Thakur from Versova and Goregaon constituencies respectively, where he underlined BJP’s Hindutva stand.
In a rally at Oshiwara, which falls under Versova constituency, as he was cheered by people holding up placards of the lotus symbol, Fadnavis sustained his row with AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. On Saturday, Fadnavis had claimed that “vote jihad” was set out in Maharashtra, which should be countered by “dharma yudh”; Owaisi had criticised the deputy CM’s remark.
“I heard Owaisi at a rally here where he spoke like a parrot,” said Fadnavis. “Doesn’t he know, this is not Hyderabad; this is Mumbai, this is Maharashtra. Owaisi should not dream of bringing the government of Razakars (reference to those who aligned with Pakistan army during the 1971 Liberation war), who we drove away from here. Remember, Aurangzeb could not defeat the Marathas.”
He continued, “We will work for the vikas of all — Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians. But giving a thousand crores to the waqf board and 10% reservation to Muslims are against the interest of India. On these demands, if Congress, Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar’s party are pandering to them, we will not bear it. I request you all that if they are coming here and sloganeering for vote jihad, then we can wage a religious war — dharma yudh.”
Hitting out at Uddhav Thackeray, he said, the Sena (UBT) chief “has accepted lachari (compulsion) for votes; we will accept loss but not lachari”.
Fadnavis also drew focus on various infra projects – Atal Setu, Coastal Road and its further extension — that were recently launched by the Mahayuti government. “The Congress government could only start 11-km of metro in 11 years,” he said. “In the last five years, we’ve started almost 100-km metro lines – nine of these metro stations are in Versova. The MVA cannot show a single work they’re done for the state, but for stopping work.”
“Deva bhau shook up the stage, didn’t he,” said one party worker. Most people who attended the rally came from the neighbouring slum of Behrambaug. “They’ve bought the Ladki Behen Yojana, but that’s very little money to make a difference. We might give them a chance on further thought,” said a woman in the crowd.
A Shiv Sena party worker from the area, however, reported that voters of the area are aligned with Shinde. “We are first the supporters of Balasaheb (Bal Thackeray). But after the party split, we resonate with Shinde’s thought. His connect with the people is strong, and he has helped women,” said Jyoti Sawant, party worker.