7 months ago
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Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray connected Sunday (October 19, 2025) attacked the Election Commission (EC), alleging that astir 96 lakh fake voters had been added to the State’s electoral rolls up of the section assemblage elections.
Addressing booth-level enactment workers astatine NESCO, Goregaon successful Mumbai, Mr. Thackeray demanded a implicit clean-up of the voters’ database earlier immoderate polls were held, calling the alleged manipulation a “mockery of democracy.”
He claimed that Mumbai unsocial had 8–10 lakh fake voters, with akin numbers successful Thane, Pune, and Nashik, and warned that specified rigging would beryllium an insult to genuine voters crossed Maharashtra. “They person done this successful each colony and city. If elections are held similar this, it is an insult to voters successful Maharashtra and the country,” the MNS main said.
Mr. Thackeray accused the ruling enactment of attempting to “fix” the elections by flooding the rolls with bogus entries. “It doesn’t substance whether you ballot oregon not. The lucifer is already fixed,” helium claimed, questioning the legitimacy of the antiauthoritarian process.
He besides responded to critics of the MNS’s mediocre electoral performance, arguing that skewed elector information undermined just representation. “How volition my enactment person MLAs and MPs if the voting arithmetic itself is compromised?” helium asked.
During the speech, Mr. Thackeray played a clip of Narendra Modi from his clip arsenic Gujarat Chief Minister, wherever helium had criticised the EC, to item what helium called hypocrisy present that the BJP was successful power.
He alleged that MLAs from the ruling enactment had privately admitted to elector database tampering and slammed the EC’s determination to frost elector database updates aft July 25, which, helium said, disenfranchised thousands of young voters.
Ballot insubstantial voting
The MNS main called for a instrumentality to ballot insubstantial voting, arguing that it would reconstruct transparency and spot successful the electoral process.
Beyond electoral concerns, Mr. Thackeray raised alarm implicit infrastructure shifts, claiming that Mumbai airdrome operations would soon beryllium moved to Navi Mumbai, and cargo services to the upcoming Vadhavan Port successful Palghar. He alleged that onshore astir these projects would beryllium handed implicit to the Adani Group, informing against improvement that sidelined Marathi interests.
“I volition not tolerate improvement built implicit the tomb of Marathi people,” the MNS main declared. He claimed that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had opposed the merger of Mumbai with Maharashtra, invoking Marathi individuality and pride.
He besides touched connected connection politics, questioning the imposition of Hindi successful Maharashtra. “Why should we larn Hindi erstwhile Hindi-speaking States are economically backward, and non-Hindi States are progressive? Marathi connection and civilization are non-negotiable,” Mr. Thackeray said informing against immoderate compromise.
He urged each parties to verify elector lists door-to-door and announced a associated Opposition rally connected November 1 successful Mumbai, alongside Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, to request the removal of fake voters.
Following the speech, a associated property league was held astatine the Sena Bhavan successful Mumbai wherever Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, MNS person Bala Nandgaonkar, NCP (SP)’s Jayant Patil, and Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant echoed Mr. Thackeray’s concerns.
Mr. Raut said adjacent ruling enactment MLAs Manda Mhatre (BJP) and Sanjay Gaikwad (Shiv Sena) had acknowledged irregularities successful the elector lists.
“Electoral rolls should beryllium clean. All large parties isolated from the ruling ones are raising this issue. The EC is not acceptable to judge that the voters’ lists are flawed. We person to springiness the EC a jolt by hitting the streets,” helium said.
Mr. Raut said lakhs of disenfranchised voters would enactment successful the rally, which would beryllium led by Mr. Pawar, Mr. Uddhav Thackeray, and Mr. Raj Thackeray, with invitations extended to elder Congress leaders. Another property league by Mr. Pawar and the Thackeray cousins was expected successful the coming days, helium said.
“If the EC is going to propulsion a situation earlier us, we are acceptable to judge it,” Mr. Raut said.
Earlier, connected October 14, Opposition leaders met State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare and Chief Electoral Officer S. Chockalingam, submitting elaborate representations astir discrepancies successful the voters’ lists. They person demanded rectification of anomalies up of the agrarian and municipality assemblage elections, which are to beryllium completed by January 31, 2026.
The Maharashtra State Election Commission, meanwhile, has maintained that nary governmental enactment tin tamper with the electoral rolls and that each corrections and updates are being securely managed.
Congress’s Sachin Sawant said the EC’s refusal to prosecute with Opposition concerns was “detrimental to democracy,” portion NCP (SP)’s Mr. Jayant Patil said the November 1 protestation would bespeak nationalist outrage. “We expect the canvass assemblage to rectify its mistake,” Mr. Patil said, adding that adjacent ruling parties were invited to articulation the morcha if they stood for antiauthoritarian integrity.
