Vote Shas or burn in HELL!

Are these statements normal? Ynet: Rabbi Shimon Baadani, a member of Shas' Council of Torah Sages, provided on Saturday evening amazing explanations for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's illness. "Ariel Sharon had a stroke because he went against Shas and hurt religious services," Baadani explained during a sermon he gave at a Jerusalem synagogue. The rabbi also promised "hell to those who don’t vote Shas," thus extending the remarks of Shas' spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who said at the beginning of the month that heaven awaits only those who will vote for the party. Baadani also referred to the public's apathy toward the elections, saying that "we are facing an important battle. In the previous elections Shinui got more Knesset seats than Shas and therefore we were not made part of the coalition. We had a tough time and were in despair." "For us these elections are in favor of the yeshivas, the ultra-Orthodox junior schools, the mikvahs (ritual baths) – so how can we be indifferent? Our job in the Knesset is to stop the destruction among the people of Israel, and therefore we allow ourselves to enter this 'golden calf.' Otherwise, what do we have to do with the legislative body? The Torah of Israel is our law," he said.