Maharashtra Assembly Election: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pankaja Munde has opposed the ‘batenge to katenge’ slogan of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) playing out in Maharashtra ahead of the assembly polls.
The latest objection by Munde, daughter of BJP veteran Gopinath Munde, comes after Ajit Pawar of the BJP ally-NCP publicly opposed the controversial slogan coined by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
“Frankly, my politics is different. I won’t support it just because I belong to the same party. My belief is that we should work on development alone. A leader’s job is to make every living person on this land their own. Therefore, we need not bring any such topic to Maharashtra,” Munde told the Indian Express.
Munde, who is the BJP National Secretary, has also been a minister in the Maharashtra government led by Devendra Fadnavis.
Yogi Adityanath, also BJP's star campaigner, coined the slogan in August while speaking in Agra, highlighting the importance of national unity and referring to the unrest in Bangladesh.
“Batenge to katenge… Ek rahenge to nek rahenge (Divided we fall… United we stand),” Yogi had said.
The ‘batenge to katenge’ slogan, which invokes Hindu unity, has now become a BJP poll pitch in Maharashtra. BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, have echoed the slogan.
In fact, Modi has been using another slogan, ‘ek hain toh safe hain’ (Together, we are safe), which the opposition, including the Congress, says actually means the same thing.
Munde, however, elaborated. “He (Adityanath) said it in a different context and in the political situation of that land. The meaning of that is not what we are using in Maharashtra. Modiji has given justice to everyone. He did not see caste or religion when he gave rations, housing or cylinders to people," she said.
Voting in Maharashtra is scheduled for November 20. The BJP, in alliance with Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena under the ruling Mahayuti banner, is contesting against the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), the NCP (Sharad Pawar) and the Congress.
Earlier, voices were raised against the slogan within the ruling Mahayuti. Ajit Pawar, the BJP's alliance partner in Mahayuti, openly opposed the slogan, saying it would not resonate with the people of Maharashtra.
“I have said this several times. It will not work in Maharashtra. This may work in UP, Jharkhand, or some other places,” said Ajit Pawar, the Deputy Chief Minister in the Eknath Shinde government.
