Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | Posters with UP CM Adityanath's photo, 'batenge to katenge' message surface in Mumbai

Mumbai: Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly polls, posters with a photo of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and bearing the message "batenge to katenge", implying disastrous impact of division, have come up in several parts of Mumbai.

While Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar said their party has not put up the posters, he maintained that many people feel the society will suffer if there is division of votes.

The posters carry the messages - "batenge to katenge" (if divided, we will be cut), and "if we stay united, we will be noble and secure." Written in red, the message has a background colour combination of saffron, yellow and green.

The posters, surfacing ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra polls, bear the name of one Vishwabandhu Rai.

Asked about it, BJP leader Shelar told PTI, "The party has not put up the posters, and Rai does not hold any position in the party either." In reference to the message, Shelar said, "It is the feeling of a sizeable number of people here that if votes are cut, the society will suffer due to lack of development. Many people feel they should stay united and focus on voting unitedly for development and prosperity." Notably, senior BJP leader Adityanath had in August urged people to stay united to reach the pinnacle of prosperity, saying the mistakes in Bangladesh should not happen in India.

At an event in Agra, the CM had said, "Aap dekh rahe hain Bangladesh mein kya ho raha hai? Wo galatiyan yahan nahi honi chahiye. Batenge toh katenge! Ek rahenge to nek rahenge, surakshit rahenge aur samriddhi ki parakashtha ko pahuchenge," the chief minister said in Hindi.

Roughly translated, he asked people if they are watching what is happening in Bangladesh and said those mistakes should not happen here, adding, "If divided, we will be cut, if together, we will be good, secure and reach the pinnacle of prosperity." Bangladesh recently saw massive anti-government protests, leading to the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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