Poll-bound Maharashtra is witnessing an intriguing voter sentiment akin to a wave as the date of the forthcoming Assembly polls nears. A call for Hindus to not be divided by castes or communities phrased as Batenge Toh Katenge – loosely translated as: “If divided, we perish” by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath seems to be gaining resonance among voters. It has intensified the call for Hindu votes to come together in the Assembly election campaigns in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
Batenge Toh Katenge! is a slogan that was initially coined by Yogi Adityanath to promote Hindu unity, and is now shaping the political landscape of promoters and catalysts of Muslims as a votebank react with objections and criticism.
Senior journalist Dinesh Gune cites several reasons why the Bharatiya Janata Party’s electoral war cry that warns voters against division of votes has caught on like wildfire.
“People have earlier witnessed Muslim voters adhere to orders and directives from their local and regional religious councils to vote for or against a certain candidate. Having witnessed the appeasement of Muslim voters peak during the Maha Vikas Aghadi (coalition of Congress, Sharad Pawar faction of NCP, and Uddhav Thackeray wing of Shiv Sena) rule, and the recent charter of 17 demands by the Ulema council, non-Muslim voters are now coalescing on one plank,” Gune said. Amit Malviya, In-Charge of BJP’s National Information & Technology Dept, has posted on X.com that “Over 180 NGOs have been working for months among Muslim voters in Mumbai to increase enrolment and voter turnout… This was done during the Lok Sabha too. Mosques and community gatherings were used to shepherd people into voting for the I.N.D.I Alliance.”
Shakir Shaikh, coordinator of Maharashtra Democratic Forum, reportedly told Hindustan Times that his forum’s coordination with the NGOs have helped them register nine lakh new voters in Mumbai and also egg them on to come out and vote. The report also states that BJP leaders Kirit Somaiya and Nitesh Rane have criticised this en masse voting against Mahayuti Alliance (the ruling coalition in Maharashtra) candidates, calling it Vote-Jihad.
Shaikh reportedly pointed out that ‘jihad’ in Arabic meant ‘holy struggle’ and that no one should object if his community is voting for change. “If Muslims are voting for non-Muslim candidates, how can it be linked with religion?” he retorted.
Game-Changing States Evokes Insecurity
But while it is considered nothing objectionable to coalesce the Muslim votebank, the call for unity among Hindu voters seems to create insecurity and unrest among the opposition ranks and files, giving rise to allegations that disunity among Hindu voters fuels divisive politics. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav reportedly called the slogan one of the most negative ones in history. Yadav claimed it echoed the British policy of ‘divide and rule’.
Along with the warning slogan Batenge Toh Katenge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s revolutionary slogan Ek Hain Toh Safe Hain is proving to be a game-changer.
Controversial journalist Rajdeep Sardesai reached Nanded Sahib, the site of Sikh pilgrimage in Maharashtra, and posed provocative questions to Sikh devotees as well as Marathi locals there. “PM says Ek Hai toh Safe hai. Is this correct?” he asked, only to be shocked by the Sikh gentleman retorting: “Yes, the Prime Minister is absolutely correct.”
A stunned Rajdeep Sardesai asked, “Are these slogans not an attempt to divide people?” The men he was interviewing with suggestive questions said they feel safe because Modi is there. “We want development and protection. CM Yogi is also right. Batenge toh Katenge.”
MVA’s Appeasement politics
The All India Ulema Board has sent a letter with their 17 demands to the Maha Vikas Aghadi in lieu of their support. Sharad Pawar’s NCP has promptly responded, accepting the Ulemas’ demands and furnishing a written undertaking to look into the matter once elected to power. Uddhav Thackeray and Nana Patole followed suit by thanking the Ulema leaders for support during elections. TheC has expressed its angst over Sharad Pawar’s politics and asked why such a prompt and positive response was missing when they were agitating for reservations?
Professor Namdevrao Jadhav, who blames Pawar for the Maratha community not getting reservations in education and Government jobs, has reportedly alleged that the community was deliberately given the miss when reservation quotas were raised from 34 per cent to 50 per cent in 1994 when Pawar senior was the Chief Minister.
“In 1994, Maharashtra had an opportunity to reorganise reservations. The committee constituted by then CM Sharad Pawar did not include Marathas in any list. Maratha reservation within this frame is now legally impossible,” Jadhav had expressed in November 2023 and Pawars supporters had allegedly retaliated by blackening his face.
Sinister Agenda Akin to Two-Nation Theory?
Senior journalist Rahul Shivshankar has posted on X that there is a disturbing similarity between the 14 demands made by the All India Ulema Council in Maharashtra and Jinnah’s 14-point proclamation of 1929. “Endorsement of these demands by the MVA will enable the machinations of a “2-nation” mindset,” Shivshankar writes.
Catching Waqf Board Issue by the Horns
This Waqf Bill is such a contentious issue that even those Hindus who normally stayed away from debates in society are now openly voicing their concerns about. Dinesh Gune said that during his journalistc work trips he had met a family in Sangli-Miraj region of Maharashtra, which claimed that they had suddenly lost their ancestral land to the Waqf Board that arbitrarily claimed it. This and similar cases of Waqf Board’s high-handedness have ended in Hindus feeling insecure and seeking ways to seek safety in numbers.
Development by Mahayuti Steals MVA Thunder
The progress in infrastructure and facilities to the common public are so glaringly evident in Maharashtra that it seems to have stolen the sting from the I.N.D.I. Alliance partners’ bite. The Atal Setu and Samruddhi Mahamarg (concretised highway connecting Mumbai to Nagpur) etc. are undeniable. Bizarre fear-mongering such as “BJP will overturn the Constitution draw a dud now. In fact, much to the embarrassment of the Congress, Rahul Gandhi’s team distributed blank copies labelled ‘Indian Constitution’ at a recent rally.
Dharavi Slum Development Issue
Team Uddhav Thackeray tried very hard to milk the Dharavi slums redevelopment issue by alleging fraud by the Adani group that won the bid to carry out a massive overhaul in the overcrowded slum zone. Maharashtra Government’s bold redevelopment plan will bring well-equipped hospitals, upgraded sanitation and advanced education facilities to the poor, underprivileged but hard working residents of Asia’s biggest slums – Dharavi.
With attacks on religious processions and festivals of Hindus becoming rampant, there is palpable anger amongst the majority. Maratha reservation leader Jarange and the MVA’s talks of quotas for Muslims in jobs and academic institutions have created a push back amongst the Sanatanis
The resilient community of residents of Dharavi has welcomed the plan as they will get cleaner, better equipped houses and locality instead of the squalor that they had been forced to live amidst since decades.
Development Punctures MVA’s Claims
MVA’s divisive tactics involved telling the electorate in Maharashtra that the Modi-Shah team had stolen all key projects from Maharashtra and taken them to the duo’s home State of Gujarat. As journalist Dinesh Gune points out, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis silenced that bogie in September when he demonstrated how Maharashtra has emerged as the leader in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) during the first quarter of the current Financial year 2024-25.
Garnering more FDI than the combined total of all other States of India, Fadnavis showed how Maharashtra’s progress juggernaut was marching on robustly with no fear of slowing down. “Congratulations Maharashtra! Very good news!! 52.46 per cent of the total foreign investment in the country is done only in Maharashtra” Fadnavis posted on X. The State’s infrastructure development efforts got a shot in the arm after the Union Cabinet’s approval for the establishment of the Dighi Port Industrial Area as an industrial smart city in Raigad district. The proposed city will be 55 km east of Dighi port spread over 6,056 acre costing Rs 5,469 crore.
People have begun to speak out and debate on the sweeping and unfair powers given to the Waqf Board through the Waqf Act. With attacks on religious processions and festivals of Hindus becoming rampant, there is palpable anger amongst the majority. Maratha reservation leader Jarange and the MVA’s talks of quotas for Muslims in jobs and academic institutions have created a push back amongst the Sanatanis.
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