'Vote Jihad had been noticed in...': Fadnavis on BJP's decline during Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra
Fadnavis claimed that united voting by people from a particular community had affected the BJP's performance in 14 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.
- Oct 1, 2024,
- Updated Oct 1, 2024 4:06 PM IST
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday raised the issue of "vote jihad" during a speech at the Sant Samavesh programme at Kaneri Matt in Kolhapur. Without directly naming any community, Fadnavis claimed that united voting by people from a particular community had affected the BJP's performance in 14 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.
"In Dhule, a candidate was leading by 1.90 lakh votes in five assembly segments. However, in one constituency (Malegaon), the other candidate got 1.94 lakh votes, thus winning by 4,000 votes," Fadnavis said. He added that the confidence of the other community had grown, and they now believe they can defeat "Hindutvawadi" candidates, even with fewer numbers.
Fadnavis also addressed the issue of "love jihad," claiming that such cases were rarely reported 10 years ago but have since surged. He mentioned that there are now over 1 lakh complaints related to love jihad, alleging that girls are married and later abandoned after having children.
A few days earlier, at the CNN-News18 Town Hall, Fadnavis had expressed similar concerns about "vote jihad" affecting BJP's results in the Lok Sabha elections. He attributed the party's underperformance to what he called "fake narratives" and suggested that these issues have since been addressed.
"In the Lok Sabha election results, BJP-led Mahayuti’s vote share was 43.6%, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) secured 43.9%,” Fadnavis said. He noted that while the difference in vote share was small, it had a significant impact on the number of seats won.
He also pointed out that fear was instilled in minority communities, leading to what he described as "revengeful voting" in certain areas. "We did not think they would come together and vote, but we have fixed it now," he added.
Fadnavis expressed optimism about the upcoming assembly elections, saying that the BJP is better prepared and that "the ground reality is different now." He highlighted government schemes and infrastructure projects like the Metro, coastal road, and Atal Setu as factors that have shifted the narrative in favor of the BJP.
In the recent Lok Sabha polls, the BJP suffered a big setback as its seat tally came down from 23 in 2019 to just 9. Overall, the NDA's number came down to 17, less than half of what the BJP and undivided Shiv Sena had won in 2019. The NDA had won 43 of 48 seats in 2019.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday raised the issue of "vote jihad" during a speech at the Sant Samavesh programme at Kaneri Matt in Kolhapur. Without directly naming any community, Fadnavis claimed that united voting by people from a particular community had affected the BJP's performance in 14 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.
"In Dhule, a candidate was leading by 1.90 lakh votes in five assembly segments. However, in one constituency (Malegaon), the other candidate got 1.94 lakh votes, thus winning by 4,000 votes," Fadnavis said. He added that the confidence of the other community had grown, and they now believe they can defeat "Hindutvawadi" candidates, even with fewer numbers.
Fadnavis also addressed the issue of "love jihad," claiming that such cases were rarely reported 10 years ago but have since surged. He mentioned that there are now over 1 lakh complaints related to love jihad, alleging that girls are married and later abandoned after having children.
A few days earlier, at the CNN-News18 Town Hall, Fadnavis had expressed similar concerns about "vote jihad" affecting BJP's results in the Lok Sabha elections. He attributed the party's underperformance to what he called "fake narratives" and suggested that these issues have since been addressed.
"In the Lok Sabha election results, BJP-led Mahayuti’s vote share was 43.6%, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) secured 43.9%,” Fadnavis said. He noted that while the difference in vote share was small, it had a significant impact on the number of seats won.
He also pointed out that fear was instilled in minority communities, leading to what he described as "revengeful voting" in certain areas. "We did not think they would come together and vote, but we have fixed it now," he added.
Fadnavis expressed optimism about the upcoming assembly elections, saying that the BJP is better prepared and that "the ground reality is different now." He highlighted government schemes and infrastructure projects like the Metro, coastal road, and Atal Setu as factors that have shifted the narrative in favor of the BJP.
In the recent Lok Sabha polls, the BJP suffered a big setback as its seat tally came down from 23 in 2019 to just 9. Overall, the NDA's number came down to 17, less than half of what the BJP and undivided Shiv Sena had won in 2019. The NDA had won 43 of 48 seats in 2019.