The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday accused several Muslim organisations of attempting to “vitiate the poll atmosphere” in Maharashtra and Jharkhand by appealing for votes based on religion. The party urged the Election Commission and the Supreme Court to take strict action against such practices.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, party spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia alleged that Maulana Sajjad Nomani, a functionary of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, had publicly announced support for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in Maharashtra.
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Nomani has appealed to Muslims to vote for the MVA on 269 seats and for other non-BJP parties in the state, Bhatia claimed, adding that such statements are a threat to democratic principles.
Earlier, the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind’s Lohardaga unit in Jharkhand reportedly called on Muslims to vote en bloc for the Congress-JMM-RJD-CPI (ML) Liberation alliance in the upcoming assembly elections.
“This is called vote jihad,” Bhatia said. He criticised the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray, and Sharad Pawar for engaging in “appeasement politics” and prioritising “lust for power” over democratic integrity.
“Elections have to be as pure as Mother Ganges” Bhatia said, emphasising the need to uphold democratic values. He further alleged that the INDIA bloc’s approach includes appeasement and support for illegal immigrants, which he argued poses a threat to national security.
The BJP called for the Election Commission and the Supreme Court to investigate and act against appeals made on religious grounds, stating that such practices amount to corrupt electoral behavior.