Treading on the communal lines ahead of the third phase of polling, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said "Vote Jihad" has always been there in the country as he compared voting patterns among Hindus and Muslims.
According to Sarma, 90 per cent of the voting patterns seen in Muslim communities show that prior deliberation has gone behind the decision of whom to vote for and that it is rather a collective one instead of an being individual choice.
The Assam Chief Minister spoke out after senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid's niece and Samajwadi Party leader Maria Alam stoked up controversy on Wednesday when she said that only vote jihad can drive away the Sanghi government.
Speaking on the matter, Sarma today said that it is not talked about much, but vote jihad exists and it has always been there in the country. He explained that the Hindu community's votes go to the BJP, Congress as well as the left. However, when it comes to Muslims, the practice is very evident.
He said, "Vote jihad has always been there. When the Hindu community goes to vote, then the BJP, Congress and even the left gets votes. Hindus do not practice vote jihad. They check the candidate, the party and they vote for everyone."
"However, when you go to a Muslim polling booth, you will understand that the decision is not an individual one, but one that has been passed throughout the community to vote for a particular symbol," the chief minister said.
"90 per cent of the time, their voting pattern shows that a meeting has taken place before the voting. Voting does not happen on individual choice, but on collective decision," he added.
Sarma further mentioned that the constitution says that vote is personal and should come from an individual's conscience. "It cannot be a collective decision," he said.
"We don't speak about it much, but vote jihad is there. If Salman Khurshid or his niece has taken this issue up, then there should be a debate on it," the Assam Chief Minister said.
