The Eknath Shinde government's backing of controversial godman Mahant Ramgiri Maharaj, who allegedly made disparaging remarks against Prophet Mohammed, communal riots on the foothills of the Vishalgad fort in Kolhapur, and inflammatory remarks made by bjp mla Nitesh Rane directed at Muslims suggest that the ruling coalition in maharashtra may be moving toward a more hardline stance on Hindutva.
 
In 14 of the state's 48 parliamentary seats, deputy chief minister devendra fadnavis implied that Muslims cast a bloc vote for members of the opposition maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in an attempt to unseat the BJP-led Mahayuti in the lok sabha elections. fadnavis, who also controls the home portfolio, continued by asserting that there were more than a lakh instances of "love jihad," a term used to describe circumstances in which a Muslim man's engagement with a non-Muslim woman is said to be an attempt to convert her to Islam.
 
Ramgiri Maharaj, who is popular in some areas of Ahmednagar district and Marathwada, made contentious remarks about the Islamic prophet. The seer was supported by cm Shinde in spite of resistance from Muslims, including former All india Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) mp Imtiaz Jaleel's "tiranga yatra" to mumbai from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in aurangabad in protest of Ramgiri's comments. The son of bjp politician and former Union minister Narayan Rane, Nitesh Rane, made threats to harm the critics of the seer within mosques. Additionally, the younger Rane urged Hindus to refrain from selling their assets to non-Hindus.
 
Yuvraj Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati, a descendant of Chhatrapati shivaji Maharaj and a scion of the local royal family, called for protests against the "encroachments" at the Vishalgad fort in Kolhapur. However, the demonstrations quickly turned violent against Muslim homes, property, and places of worship. Sambhajiraje is reportedly close to the bjp and Shinde, despite being a member of the "Parivartan Mahashakti," a third front made up of minor parties and farmers' organizations in Maharashtra. In 2016, the central government nominated him to the rajya sabha as well.
 
Such remarks, according to a bjp leader, are intended to appease the party's core supporters who were dissatisfied with the state's recent developments, particularly the BJP's coalition with the nationalist congress party (NCP), with which it has historically been at odds. Our cadre is confused as a result of alliance politics. Because their electorate is likely to switch to an alliance partner, they are uncertain of the degree of their contribution to the party. He continues, "Party workers believe they have little future in electoral politics unless they belong to a politically-correct social group, and politics in maharashtra have become ultra-casteist."
 
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G GOWTHAM

24/10/2024 08:20 AM