MUMBAI: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has strongly criticized Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar for his remarks about his wife, Amruta Fadnavis. Fadnavis accused the opposition of resorting to personal attacks, claiming they are unable to challenge the ruling alliance ahead of next week’s Assembly elections.
Fadnavis condemned the derogatory memes and comments aimed at his wife, calling them shameful. “If any civilized person saw the trolls’ comments about my wife, they would be embarrassed. I told her that in politics, one must be patient because truth can be challenged but not defeated,” Fadnavis said to ANI. He urged critics to engage in constructive debate rather than launching personal attacks.
This comes after Kanhaiya Kumar made comments in Nagpur, ridiculing Amruta Fadnavis for her Instagram activities. Kumar’s remarks, in response to Fadnavis’ recent call for a ‘dharamyuddh’ against ‘vote jihad,’ sparked outrage within the BJP. Party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla called the comments disrespectful to Marathi women, declaring, “An insult to Amruta Fadnavis is an insult to every Marathi woman.”
The upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections mark the final major poll of the year. The BJP-led ruling alliance, comprising the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP group, faces a stiff challenge from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition of Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP.
The stakes are high, especially after the MVA’s strong performance in the Lok Sabha elections, where they secured 30 of the state’s 48 seats. In 2019, the BJP and the then-unified Shiv Sena won 161 out of 288 seats but split over power-sharing issues. This division allowed Uddhav Thackeray to form an alliance with Congress and the NCP. However, in 2022, a rebellion led by Eknath Shinde realigned the Sena with the BJP, bringing the Mahayuti back to power.
As the election approaches, both alliances are ramping up their campaigns, but the war of words shows no signs of cooling down.
