In what seems like an attempt to communalise the atmosphere, former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya had called Muslims of Mankhurd ‘Bangladeshi.’ This took place in the aftermath of the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, where the BJP candidate Mihir Kotecha has now lost the Mumbai North East seat to the Shiva Sena. Senior BJP leader Kirit Somaiya yesterday took to X, (formerly Twitter) and has raked up communal sentiment to justify the defeat. Somaiya blamed the loss to the Muslim community in Mankhurd, labelling them as ‘Bangladeshi.’
An MLA from Mulund, Mihir Kotecha lost the MP seat of North East Mumbai by 29,861 votes to Shiva Sena’s Sanjay Dina Patil who won by 450937 votes.
FACTS
BJP Mihir Kotecha Mumbai North East Loksabha LOST by 29,861 Votes
DEFICIT in Mankhurd 87,971
LEAD Mulund to Ghatkopar 58,110
Mankhurd Only ONE Assembly (BANGLADESHI area) Uddhav Thackeray Sena got 1,16,072 BJP 28,101 votes. DEFICIT of 87,971
We LOST to Bangladeshi pic.twitter.com/P5ZjJqGll9
— Kirit Somaiya ( Modi ka Pariwar) (@KiritSomaiya) June 5, 2024
Somaiya has stated that Kotecha was leading in areas from Mulund to Ghatkopar with a margin of 58,110 votes, however, this was not enough, the setback in Mankhurd which he blames on the ‘Bangladeshis.’
Somaiya pointed to the voting pattern in Mankhurd, where Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena secured 116,072 votes compared to BJP’s 28,101, leading to the large deficit. He controversially described this segment as a “Bangladeshi area” and blamed these voters for the loss.
Kotecha was interestingly in the news recently for reportedly paying voters to vote for him. Shiva Sena workers went to his BJP office in Mulund and held a protest outside the office. Several people were detained, and the police reportedly found unaccounted cash also at the office.
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