Does Fadnavis' call for 'dharma-yudh' fit code of conduct, Uddhav asks EC

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has asked if the call for a "dharma-yudh of votes" put out by Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis adheres to the Model Code of Conduct of the Election Commission.

Addressing a campaign rally in Dombivli town of Thane district ahead of the 20 November state assembly polls, Thackeray on Saturday, 16 November, said he was asked to remove the words "Jai Bhavani, Jai Shivaji" from his party's election anthem before the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, but refused to do so.

"Devendra Fadnavis has given a call for a 'dharma-yudh' of votes. I am asking the Election Commission, does 'dharma-yudh' fit in with your Model Code of Conduct?" the former chief minister said.

Referring to a purported appeal by an Islamic scholar for a "vote jihad" against the Mahayuti government, Fadnavis had at a rally in Pune on Friday, 15 November, called for a "dharma-yudh of votes" to counter it.

Thackeray, meanwhile, also claimed the BJP today is a "hybrid" full of opportunist leaders imported from outside.

"The BJP that grew due to the sacrifices of its workers who dedicated their lives to the organisation has now become a hybrid, a breeding ground for opportunistic politics," he said.

The vision of late party stalwarts like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Pramod Mahajan and Gopinath Munde has been undermined by the current leadership, claimed Thackeray, a former BJP ally who parted ways with it in 2019.

Drawing a contrast between his vision of Hindutva and the BJP's, he further claimed, "Our Hindutva lights stoves in people's houses; the BJP's Hindutva burns them down."

The Sena (UBT) leader also expressed concern about the "Gujarati-Marathi divide".

Thackeray accused the BJP-led Union government of prioritising corporate interests.

He alleged widespread corruption under the rule of the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, accusing the two parties of looting municipal corporations in Thane district.