NEW DELHI: Criticising the Election Commission ahead of local body elections, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Monday claimed that 9.6 million fake voters have been added, according to information received by the party. The MNS chief urged the Election Commission not to hold elections in Maharashtra “until the issue of fake voters is cleaned up.”
Addressing party workers on Sunday, Raj Thackeray said, “Reliable information has just been received that 9.6 million fake voters have been added. This is an insult to the voters of Maharashtra and the country. All the group presidents (group presidents), branch presidents, and election list heads should go door to door and count the votes. I’m asking the Election Commission not to hold elections in Maharashtra until this is clean.” Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut announced plans for a meeting with election officials in Maharashtra, led by party chief Uddhav Thackeray, to address concerns over discrepancies in the voter list. Raut said that Thackeray, along with other leaders including Raj Thackeray of MNS and Sharad Pawar of NCP-SCP, “will meet the officials and bring to their attention the issue of discrepancy in the voter list in Maharashtra…They do match fixing and then contest elections.” He alleged electoral irregularities and “match-fixing” during elections, stressing the need for a thorough investigation. Raut also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of “doing match fixing and contesting elections”, and announced plans for a massive march in Mumbai against the Election Commission on November 1, which Uddhav Thackeray, Raj Thackeray, and other opposition leaders will join. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde expressed confidence in the Mahayuti alliance ahead of the polls, stating, “Shiv Sena is always ready. We work 24/7. Mahayuti will win the local body elections with a big margin.” Earlier this year, Rahul Gandhi had alleged that the Maharashtra Assembly election held in November 2024 was “rigged”, claiming similar issues could occur in the Bihar assembly polls. He also alleged that there were fake voters in the Maharashtra elections, noting that the number of voters added in the five months ahead of the polls exceeded the total added in the last five years.(With agency inputs)
