Mumbai: With just a few days to go for the upcoming Maharashtra Civic elections 2026, a video shared by Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane showing Muslim men urging residents to vote against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is going viral on social media. Rane questioned and asked, "If this is not 'vote jihad, ' then what is it?"
In the video shared by Rane, the Muslim men are seen going door to door and chanting, "Wake up, and go to vote against the person who stopped Azan. Number 4 ko vote do. BJP ke Khilaf vote do. Utho sonewala, utho. When will you wake up, if not now? (Vote against the BJP. Get up, all who are sleeping." However, where and in which area the video was shot is currently unknown.
Earlier on January 12, Rane, while campaigning in Mumbai, said, "a vote to UBT is a vote for their Abba sitting in Pakistan." Addressing voters, Rane said, "Ye Marathi ke naam pe, app Hindu bhaiyon ko, Hindu samaj ko unko batna hai. Hinduon ke beech mei fut dal ke inka jo abba Pakistan mei baitha hai na usko in log ko kush karna hai."
"UBT ho mashal ho, unko vote matlab, Pakistan mei baithe hue abba ko vote." This roughly translates to, "In the name of Marathi, they are dividing Hindu people and by doing so they want to impress their Abba sitting in Pakistan. That is why I say a vote to UBT is a vote for their Abba sitting in Pakistan," Rane said.
Mumbai BMC elections 2026
The BMC elections and other civic body polls in the state are set to take place in a single phase on 15 January, with counting and results scheduled for 16 January. With 2,600 polling locations, which is 300 more than the 2,300 used during the 2024 Maharashtra state Assembly elections.
Approximately 10,231 polling booths have been arranged across government, cooperative and private premises to minimise crowding and ensure seamless voting citywide. The civic election, taking place after nearly nine years, will see around 1,03,44,315 voters exercise their rights and decide the fate of 1,700 candidates on January 15. A total of 10,231 polling booths have been set up, of which 4,704 are in government premises, 782 within cooperative societies and the remaining 5,125 in private premises.
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