MAHARASHTRA BJP MLA Nitesh Rane has said he will ensure “vote jihad” does not happen in the upcoming State Assembly polls and maintained he was not afraid of the multiple FIRs pertaining to hate speeches registered against him. In an interview to PTI, Rane, who is the BJP’s nominee from Kankavli seat in Sindhudurg district, asserted he has “not done anything wrong” by taking the side of his “dharma” or community. “I am going to be mentioned as a Hindu on my birth and death certificate. If I am being blamed for a hate crime just because I am trying to take the side of my own dharma or my community, religion, I don’t think there is anything wrong in it.

 

I have absolutely not done anything wrong,” he said. The BJP leader claimed “vote jihad” happened during the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year. “We will ensure this vote jihad does not happen during the State elections,” asserted Rane ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly polls. “Vote jihad” is a term used by BJP leaders to claim the Muslim community en mass voted against the party in the Lok Sabha polls. On one side, “certain jihadi minded” people of the Muslim community, the “Rohingyas and Bangladeshis” want to claim that they follow the Constitution, but on the other side they will do everything that comes under the Sharia law, Rane alleged. “If you are promoting peace between Hindus and Muslims, if you think the law should be the same for Hindus and Muslims, then why are you doing love jihad, land jihad and vote jihad?” said the legislator, who is the son of BJP MP Narayan Rane.