Devendra Fadnavis has labelled it ‘Vote Jihad 2’, its first manifestation according to the Maharashtra Chief Minister being the “strategic voting” by the minority community to defeat BJP candidates in the Lok Sabha polls.
The latest ‘vote jihad’ allegations by the party come ahead of the crucial local body elections scheduled in the state. And, this time, BJP leaders say, it’s “illegal Bangladeshi immigrants” who are trying to enroll as voters to influence results.
The drumming up of the BJP campaign has coincided with the police claiming that a person who had crossed over illegally from Bangladesh was behind the high-profile stabbing of Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan at his home. Following his arrest, the Mumbai Police stepped up its drive against illegal immigrants.
Now, the Mahayuti government has raised concerns about “the sudden rise” in the number of applications for birth certificates by individuals in the 30 to 75 age group in the state, and directed district authorities to “exercise caution”.
In 40 places, including Malegaon, Amravati, Akola and Yavatmal with sizeable Muslim populations, birth certificate applications of those above the age of 30 have been halted for now. In Malegaon, an SIT has been instituted to specifically look into the matter.
Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, made his ‘Vote Jihad 2’ claim at the BJP state executive meeting in Shirdi last week, saying the party needs to “get ready to combat this”. He added: “In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, we saw a certain community vote en masse… Now, Bangladeshi infiltrators are seeking birth certificates in Maharashtra as part of Vote Jihad Part 2.”
He added: “More than 100 cases have been reported in Malegaon, Amravati, Nashik tehsil, of fake birth certificates acquired by illegal Bangladeshis above the age of 50, using bogus documents.”
His government was committed to fight “the infiltration menace”, the CM said. “We will see to it that not a single illegal Bangladeshi is allowed to live in Maharashtra.”
Senior BJP leader Kirit Somaiyya, who is spearheading the party charge against alleged Bangladeshi infiltration, told The Indian Express: “There are 40 medium and small towns where applications for birth certificates by those between the ages of 30 and 75 have seen an unusual rise. The numbers come to two lakh… Inspections at half-a-dozen places, including Malegaon, Amravati and Akola, show that illegal Muslim Bangladeshis make up a sizeable number among them.”
In 2023, the Centre had eased the process of issue of birth and death certificates, by authorising tehsildars to handle the same – earlier these were issued by magistrates. It also set specific time frames for completing the exercise.
Somaiya claimed this had made it easier to acquire birth certificates by applicants getting away with presenting fake ration, Aadhaar and PAN cards.
A senior BJP leader said that while the identification of illegal immigrants was an administrative exercise, “in any campaign that is in the larger interest of the country, the role of a political party is important”. “Our campaign will help create awareness among the people.”
The Sena (UBT), which belongs to the opposite Maha Vikas Aghadi camp, has also expressed “concern” over illegal immigrants, but laid the blame at the Centre’s door, noting that monitoring of borders falls under the Union government.
Following the arrest in the Saif Ali Khan case, Sena (UBT) leader and former minister Aaditya Thackeray said: “What’s the point of just talking if you cannot act? If an illegal Bangladeshi has been living (in India) for months or years, it shows the Centre’s failure to guard the borders.”
The Congress has accused the BJP of resorting to “sensitive issues again to polarise the people”. Congress chief Nana Patole said nothing was stopping the Centre from acting strongly. “On matters of national security and infiltration, the government should take necessary steps. Why play politics?”
Flush from its stunning victory in the Assembly polls, the ruling Mahayuti is keen on holding the long-delayed local body polls by April 2025. Sources said the party is confident of getting the OBC quota hurdle cleared in courts by then. Among the local bodies which will see polls is the prestigious and cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which has been a domain of the Shiv Sena. This is the first time the Sena will contest the polls as two factions.
While the BJP had run an aggressive Hindutva campaign talking of ‘love jihad’ and ‘land jihad’ ahead of the Lok Sabha polls last year, with rallies across Maharashtra, after it finished far behind the MVA in the results, it had added ‘vote jihad’ to its claims.
The charge was specifically prompted by the BJP’s loss from the Dhule Lok Sabha seat. Of the six Assembly segments falling under the seat, the BJP’s Subhash Bhamre led in all but the Muslim-dominated Malegaon Central.
If Fadnavis talked of ‘vote jihad’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his campaign for the Assembly polls talked of ‘Ek hain toh safe hain (Together, we are safe)’, while Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath gave the slogan ‘Batenge toh katenge (Divided we will be finished)’.
An anti-illegal immigrant campaign is not new in Maharashtra politics, having been a part of election manifestos of both the Shiv Sena and BJP in the early 1990s. During the 1980 Assembly polls, the right-wing parties had accused the Congress of “sheltering illegal immigrants in Trombay” to use them as a vote bank. At the time, the Congress’s Javed Khan represented the constituency.