Maharashtra Assembly polls: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has said that each vote in favour of the saffron party will mean “dropping of a nuclear bomb on Pakistan”. He also said that the upcoming Assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra will indicate “the real patriotism of Indians” as the world closely watch these polls.

“By pressing the lotus button (BJP’s poll symbol), not only Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Narendra Mehta will be benefitted, but it will mean that a nuclear bomb will by itself get dropped on Pakistan,” Maurya said.

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The BJP looks all set to play the Kashmir card this time around in the upcoming assembly elections. Maurya said that the upcoming Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections are crucial as these will be the first polls in the country after the abrogation of Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

The entire world will closely watch the upcoming Assembly elections in these two states as it will indicate the real patriotism of Indians, the BJP leader said while addressing a public gathering in support of BJP candidate Narendra Mehta from Mira Bhayander Assembly segment in Maharashtra’s Thane district on Sunday night.

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Taking a dig at the opposition, he said, “Goddess Lakshmi doesn’t sit on a palm, bicycle or watch, rather she sits on a lotus. Article 370 was abrogated because of the flower lotus. Lotus is the symbol of development.”

The BJP leader also attacked the opposition for their response to the ‘shastra puja’ on the Rafale fighter jet. “The leaders of the opposition Congress and NCP were pained when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh performed ‘shastra puja’ on the Rafale fighter jet, emblazoned it with an ‘Om’ and placed lemons under the aircraft’s wheels,” he said in reference to last week’s handover ceremony of the first Rafale fighter jet acquired by the Indian Air Force from France.