With Assembly polls less than a week away in western Uttar Pradesh, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait made a veiled attack on the ruling BJP on Sunday as he said Muzaffarnagar is "not a stadium for Hindu-Muslim matches".
The national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), which is a part of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), said those talking on communal lines will not witness electoral gains in the region.
"Western Uttar Pradesh wants to talk about development. Those talking about Hindu, Muslim, Jinnah, religion will lose votes. Muzaffarnagar is not a stadium for Hindu-Muslim matches," Mr Tikait said in a tweet in Hindi.
In another tweet, he called on people to question the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates in the upcoming polls about the farmers who lost their lives during their year-long protest against three agriculture laws of the Centre, which have now been repealed.
"The prime minister of the country has not even taken the name of the farmers who got martyred during the movement. Till date, the prime minister has avoided calling the farmers who lost their lives in the movement as martyrs. Farmers should question their candidates," Mr Tikait said.
Mr Tikait's BKU is headquartered in Muzaffarnagar district of western Uttar Pradesh.
Muzaffarnagar had witnessed communal riots in 2013, after which the dominant Jat and Muslim communities in the region had apparently grown apart.
The BJP had virtually swept the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls and the 2019 Lok Sabha election in the region, although the farmers' agitation against the Centre has witnessed the gap between the two communities bridging, according to political observers.
Polling is scheduled to be held in Muzaffarnagar in the first round of the seven-phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls on February 10. The counting of votes will be taken up on March 10.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
National Aviation University Invites Application For Faculty Positions, Salary Up To Rs 2.18 Lakh These Caramel-Coloured Street Dogs in Brazil Became A National Symbol. Here's Why Big Cat Exchange: Madhya Pradesh To Give 2 Tigers, Get 2 Lions From Gujarat Pics: Rahul Gandhi's Family Lunch At Iconic Delhi Restaurant Can Elon Musk Become US President? Donald Trump Says... Donald Trump Appoints Indian-American, Elon Musk Aide As AI Advisor 'Sunny Leone' Got Rs 1000/Month Under Chhattisgarh Scheme For Married Women 2 Toddlers Among 3 Dead After Truck Runs Over People On Pune Footpath Why Chinese Women Are Doing Maternity Photoshoots With Fake Baby Bumps Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.