Maharashtra, Jharkhand assembly elections 2024: BJP claims some Muslim bodies asking community to vote for I.N.D.I.A bloc; urge EC, SC to take action

Muslim bodies urged to vote for specific parties based on religion, BJP alleges, calls for action by Election Commission.

The BJP on Saturday (November 16, 2024) alleged that some Muslim bodies are trying to vitiate the poll atmosphere in Maharashtra and Jharkhand by appealing to their community members to vote for the I.N.D.I.A bloc on the lines of religion, and urged the Election Commission and the Supreme Court to take action in the matter.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, party national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said All India Muslim Personal Law Board's functionary Maulana Sajjad Nomani has said that the outfit has decided to support Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on 269 seats and other non-BJP parties on a few seats in Maharashtra Assembly polls.

He said that Nomani has appealed to the Muslims to vote for the MVA, saying the outcome of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections will have an impact not only on the future of the state but also on the future of the entire country.

Earlier the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind's Lohardaga unit appealed to the Muslims to vote en bloc for the Congress-JMM-RJD-CPI (ML) Liberation combine in Jharkhand, Mr. Bhatia claimed.

"This is called vote jihad," he said, adding, "This is the height of appeasement politics" by the MVA in Maharashtra and Congress-JMM in Jharkhand.

Mr. Bhatia said that an appeal for votes made on the basis of religion amounts to corrupt practices.

"It can not be tolerated in a democracy like ours where elections have to be as pure as Mother Ganges. It's a very worrisome trend that we have seen that for the lust of power, the Congress, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray are ready to appease, adopt infiltrators and say 'I love you' to illegal immigrants," he said.