Ruling party candidate in Indian election says Hindus who don’t vote for him ‘have Muslim blood’

A right-wing politician up for re-election in India’s most populous state has said that any Hindu who does not vote for him must have “Muslim blood in their veins”.

Raghavendra Pratap Singh is a member of the legislative assembly (MLA) in Uttar Pradesh for the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and was campaigning for the election currently underway in the state which has a population larger than Brazil’s.

In a video of his comments, which was shared widely on Sunday and which the politician has not disputed as genuine, Mr Singh appeared to make threats against Hindus who do not vote for him and “go over to the other side”.

In the video, Mr Singh can be heard saying: “Tell me, will any Muslim vote for me? So be aware that if Hindus of this village support another side, they have Muslim blood in their veins.”

“They are traitors. Even after so many atrocities, if a Hindu goes over to the other side, he should not be allowed to show his face in public,” the lawmaker can be heard saying in the video.

“If the warning is not heeded, I will let everyone know who Raghvendra Singh is. I can tolerate personal insults and betrayals, but I will destroy those who try to insult the Hindu community,” he added.

Mr Singh is facing re-election on 3 March in the last of seven phases of voting in UP, a state which has witnessed many examples of campaigning along communal lines.

He is also in charge of the right-wing Hindu Yuva Vahini youth outfit set up by UP’s incumbent chief minister Yogi Adityanath in 2002.

The outfit played an important role in Mr Adityanath’s election campaigns in 2004, 2009 and 2014 – when the current state chief minister had sought election to India’s lower house of parliament – and spread the political message of Hindutva, or the idea of Hindu hegemony in India, in rural areas across eastern Uttar Pradesh, reported The Hindustan Times.

After the BJP came to power in the state in 2017, units of the outfit were disbanded amid fears from the leadership that they would function as parallel political outfits.

In another video clip from the same time that has been circulated online, Mr Singh can be seen taking his anti-Muslim rhetoric up a notch.

“Listen Muslims, if any Hindu is insulted and if you look at any Hindu girl, then I’ll get you beaten so much and cut so much…that…” he says as the remaining words of warning are drowned out amid religious chants of “Jai Shri Ram”.

In reply to a tweet on Monday by journalist Deepak Sharma who shared the video and demanded action from the police as well as India’s election commission, that oversees elections across the country, local police officials said they were aware of the matter.

Later on Monday, an initial chargesheet or First Information Report was registered at Domariyaganj police station under various sections for promoting enmity between different groups, outraging religious feelings and criminal intimidation reported The Wire.

The Independent has reached out to Mr Singh but did not receive a response.

In a statement to The Indian Express, however, Mr Singh confirmed the video was genuine but said his words had been taken out of context.

“I had no intention to threaten anybody. Can anybody win an election by threatening in Domariyaganj where there are around 173,000 Muslim voters, comprising around 39.8 per cent of the electorate?” he was quoted as saying.