Kolhapur (Maharashtra) [India], August 7 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday pitched for national unity and alleged that a deliberate campaign of "vote jihad" was undertaken during the recent Lok Sabha elections to counter nationalist ideologies, and called upon the state's spiritual powers to resist what he described as a "silent invasion" on Indian culture.
Addressing a gathering at the 178th Akhand Harinam Saptah dedicated to Shri Sant Sadguru Yogiraj Gangagiriji Maharaj, Fadnavis said, "In the Lok Sabha elections, an experiment was carried out. A system of 'vote jihad' was created. Few people came together with the aim of defeating nationalist ideologies."
He said that upon recognising this alleged "conspiracy", both he and Deputy CM Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reached out to Maharashtra's saints and spiritual leaders, including Ramgiri Maharaj, seeking their intervention.
"When we realised this conspiracy, Eknath Shinde and I appealed to the spiritual power of Maharashtra. We reached out to Ramgiri Maharaj and other saints, saying this is not just a political attack, it is an attack on our culture. A narrative was being built that a handful of people could come together and defeat nationalist and saintly thoughts in the name of religion," he said.
Drawing parallels to historical resistance against invasions, the senior BJP leader and Maharashtra CM warned of what he termed a "silent invasion" targeting the country's spiritual and cultural foundations.
He said, "Just as we have faced past invasions on our temples and culture, we are now facing a silent invasion. Governments will come and go, but the country must remain. Even Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had said that Swarajya is for the sake of the nation, Dharma and the people."
Fadnavis praised the spiritual community of Maharashtra for "awakening the consciousness" of the people and underscored the need to unite beyond caste and religion to safeguard Indian culture.
He said, "So I bow to this spiritual power. This force awakened the consciousness of all of Maharashtra. It showed that if we want to protect our culture, we must come together, forgetting caste and religion."