Maharashtra election results debunk 'vote Jihad' claim: SP MLA

Thane, Dec 25 (PTI) Samajwadi Party legislator Rais Shaikh on Wednesday said the results of assembly constituencies in Maharashtra with a sizable Muslim presence disprove the claim that the minority community votes en mass against the BJP.

The MLA from Bhiwandi (East) cited voting figures to claim that the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition won 21 out of 38 seats in the November 20 elections where the Muslim population ranges from 20 percent to 52 percent.

Most of the winning candidates were Hindus, Shaikh said in a statement here.

"If 'vote Jihad' existed, this would not have been the case. Some Mahayuti candidates won by a margin of as little as 1,500 votes. But the claim of 'vote Jihad' has been used to malign the Muslim community," he alleged.

He himself won in a Muslim-majority constituency by a margin of 52,000 votes, including 18,000 votes from Hindus, the SP MLA said, adding that the BJP's "divisive slogans" such as `Batnege to Katnege' and `Ek Hai Toh Safe Hai" did not have any impact on voters.

On the other hand, Muslim candidates Hasan Mushrif and Abdul Sattar were elected from Hindu-majority Kagal and Sillod seats, respectively, he pointed out.

Shaikh also said that while Muslims are 11.56 percent of Maharashtra's population, their representation in the new assembly is only 3.47 percent.

During the election campaign, BJP leader and then deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had accused the Opposition of trying to polarize voters and said if there was `vote Jihad', it would have to be countered by `dharma yudh' of votes. PTI