'Vote jihad' BJP's rhetoric during polls: AIMIM candidate Imtiaz Jaleel

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: AIMIM candidate Imtiaz Jaleel on Tuesday said there is no "vote jihad" phenomena and dismissed it as a poll-time rhetoric of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The ruling BJP is afraid of a small party like All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Jaleel, the candidate from Maharashtra's Aurangabad East assembly seat, claimed while talking to PTI.

The former Lok Sabha MP from Aurangabad also said the people should ensure their vote doesn't benefit the BJP and the Shiv Sena of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Jaleel, who is pitted against BJP minister Atul Save in the seat, also asserted the "Hindu-Muslim" card played by the ruling side would not cause any unrest in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Elections to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly are scheduled on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23.

Notably, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday claimed here that "vote jihad" had begun in poll-bound Maharashtra, which should be countered by "dharma yuddha" of vote.

Asked about the remarks, Jaleel said, "There is no (vote) jihad. BJP loves these words and they use them when there are elections. They use issues like triple talaq, Pakistan, temple, mosque, hijab to run their shop. Now they have nothing to show here (in the state in terms of performance)." "They say 'batoge to katoge' (if divided you will fall). I am now able to see why Devendra Fadnavis is so afraid of a small party like us. Their entire speech is against us," the former Lok Sabha MP said.

Further targeting the ruling alliance, Jaleel said they do not spell out what they are doing for the state.

"They see (AIMIM chief) Owaisi even in their dreams. It is clear that all the parties are weak and their fight is against us," he claimed.

Jaleel claimed that to defeat him, 28 Muslim candidates have been propped up by the BJP which is even funding their campaign vehicle expenses.

"You may feel that they (voters) are divided, but when the people go to vote, they will vote for the 'kite' (symbol of AIMIM)," he said.

"The assembly election should be contested on local issues, but it is being fought on 'batoge to katoge' (narrative) and the prime minister gives new slogans here. Fadnavis, being the senior BJP leader, talks of changing the name of the city. When they have nothing left, they raise such topics," Jaleel claimed.

The AIMIM leader expressed confidence of winning the poll, saying he is getting the people's support.

"We are making all efforts to reach out to the people, no candidate is new in Aurangabad East. Voters will take a call," he said.

On his party contesting less seats this time then the 2019 assembly polls, Jaleel said they have taken this decision after a lot of thinking as they don't want the BJP to win.

"So, we have decided to contest and focus on the seats where we have strong candidates to avoid waste of energy (in campaign)," he added.

On what would be the voters' preference in constituencies where the AIMIM has not fielded candidates, he said, "People are disgruntled because we are not contesting a large number of seats. People can decide their vote, but we have given the message that people should see their vote doesn't benefit the BJP and the Shiv Sena of Eknath Shinde.

Notably, Jaleel had met Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange a number of times, but the Maratha-Muslim alliance for the polls did not materialise.

However, Jaleel is still hopeful of the Maratha community's support.

"When Jarange announced that they will not contest elections, they said they will use the guerrilla tactics. There is still time for voting and he (Jarange) has said they can take a new decision. Let's see...something is going to happen," he said.

Targeting local BJP leaders over development issues, Jaleel said there is not just Atul Save (state minster) here, but there have been two ministers in the central government from the city.

"The new Parliament building was completed in two years but the pipeline scheme for this city residents has remained incomplete for years," he rued.

Further taking an aim at the ruling party, he said they come up with the "Hindu-Muslim" rhetoric here during elections and win. But there will be no riots in the city, no matter how much others may try, Jaleel asserted.

"They tried this trick on Ram Navami and the attack on Ram mandir (in Kiradpura area here) was their game. If not, then they would have raised their voice with me for the demand to conduct an inquiry into this riot through a high court judge," he added.

On MNS chief Raj Thackeray targeting Jaleel over a rally which he had taken out to Mumbai against Ramgiri Maharaj (over his remarks allegedly targeting Muslims), the former MP said, "You have not seen our daring till now. We have not shown it."