BJP focuses on assembly seats where Muslims voted en bloc in recent polls

Pune: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has turned its attention to assembly seats falling under the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies where Mahayuti candidates were defeated due to what the party described as en masse voting by Muslims. The saffron party is taking up the issue while attempting to galvanise non-Muslim voters in and around the minority community-dominated constituencies for the upcoming assembly polls.

Speaking in Kolhapur on Monday, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis raised the issue, alleging what he called “vote jihad” was evident during the Lok Sabha elections. He cited Dhule as an example, where the BJP candidate lost due to voting patterns in Malegaon Central, a Muslim-majority area, despite leading in five other assembly segments in the constituency.

“Vote jihad was seen in the Lok Sabha election. In Dhule, the BJP candidate was leading by 1.90 lakh votes in five assembly segments. However, in Malegaon Central, where Muslims are in majority, we trailed by 1.94 lakh votes, leading to a defeat by just 4,000 votes,” Fadnavis said.

Despite the electoral defeat, Fadnavis expressed concern about the growing confidence among some groups, saying, “Some people believe that by voting in large numbers, they can defeat the Hindutva forces, even though they are a minority. This is the time for us to awaken.”

He said, “Of 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra, 14 seats witnessed vote jihad. Hinduism has always respected other faiths; tolerance is in our blood. But if people are voting to elect anti-Hindu leaders, we need to awaken Hindutva.”

According to leaders part of BJP’s poll strategy core group, Muslim-dominated assembly constituencies in areas such as Amravati, Dhule, Mumbai North-East, Mumbai North-Central, Thane, and Bhiwandi were crucial for the party’s prospects in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

A senior BJP leader, on condition of anonymity, said that despite “vote jihad” and “fake narratives”, the party only received 2.75% fewer votes than the MVA alliance, and even managed to gain 3.10 lakh more votes in Mumbai compared to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). “This shows that despite everything, people are with the BJP, and we will win the upcoming assembly elections and form the government,” said the leader.

The concept of analysing these voting patterns was initially presented by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, who made a detailed presentation and published a booklet on the topic during a recent party meeting.

Somaiya said that in Dhule, the BJP candidate led by 1.91 lakh votes across five assembly segments—Dhule Rural, Sindhkheda, Malegaon Rural, Baglan, and Dhule. However, in Malegaon Central, the BJP received only 4,542 votes, while the Congress candidate secured 198,879 votes, resulting in a loss by 3,831 votes.

He pointed to Mumbai North-East, where BJP candidate Mihir Kotecha led in five assembly segments but trailed in the Mankhurd assembly constituency, where the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) candidate received 116,072 votes compared to Kotecha’s 28,101 votes. This led to a defeat by 29,831 votes.

In Mumbai North-Central, Somaiya said that BJP candidate Ujjal Nikam was leading until the 18th round of counting. However, once counting started in areas like Kurla and Vandre East, which includes Kureshinagar, Kasaiwada, Behrampada, and Navpada, the Congress candidate garnered 36,223 out of 36,814 votes, while the BJP received only 591, leading to Congress victory.

The BJP believes that the “vote jihad” strategy will not impact them in the upcoming assembly elections. “We are leading in most assembly segments. We have addressed issues faced by onion, soybean, and cotton farmers. Our schemes like Ladki Bahin are very popular, and we expect to increase our voter turnout by 8-10%,” said a party source.

Somaiya said that in constituencies like Dhule, where the BJP is leading in five out of six assembly segments, they are confident of victory. “Due to ‘vote jihad’ and the Dharavi issue, Hindu voters are realising what’s happening. Uddhav Thackeray has been exposed, and we expect a decrease in MVA’s Hindu Marathi voter base, particularly in Mumbai’s MMR region,” he said.

In response to Fadnavis’ comments, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said that the BJP leader should recognise the contribution of Muslim warriors in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s army. “Fadnavis seems to have a weak grasp of history. There were indeed Muslim warriors in Shivaji Maharaj’s forces, and he should apologise,” he said.

Vijay Wadettiwar, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Maharashtra Assembly, said that the deputy chief minister’s statements were politically motivated. “The BJP continually focuses on issues like jihad, mosques, Hindu-Muslim relations, and Bharat-Pakistan. If they don’t mention these topics, they will not get votes and may lose their deposits in elections,” he said.