Raj Thackeray accuses the Election Commission of creating 96 lakh fake voters in Maharashtra

Mumbai, October 19 (IANS). Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) founder and president Raj Thackeray on Sunday made serious allegations against the Election Commission, saying that the names of around 96 lakh fake voters were included in the electoral roll of Maharashtra. During the rally, he also reiterated his disagreement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His remarks were aimed at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its alliance partners, including the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Raj Thackeray appealed to the Election Commission to purge the electoral rolls and postpone the upcoming local elections in the state until the reform is approved by all political parties involved. Addressing booth-level workers of MNS in Goregaon, Mumbai, he described fraudulent elections as the biggest insult to the electorate. The MNS chief said that holding elections with tampered voter lists pre-determines the results irrespective of public participation, terming it as a fixed political game. He asked why the ruling parties interfered when the matter was related to the Election Commission, suggesting that it mattered to them because they were aware of the underlying manipulation. Raj Thackeray argued that efforts are being made to marginalize local political organisations. They revealed that they have detected 96 lakh fake entries being added to the electoral roll ahead of the upcoming local elections, a tactic allegedly adopted even before the 2024 elections. He said eight to ten lakh fake voters were included in Mumbai, while the number in Thane, Pune and Nashik was almost the same, between 8 and 8.5 lakh. He said the electoral math was fundamentally wrong, and rejected criticism that some parties did not win seats, as it was widely understood how these victories were achieved. Commenting on the recent assembly elections, Raj Thackeray said that the election of 232 MLAs from the Mahayuti alliance has left Maharashtra in a state of disbelief, with both the voters and the winners being surprised. He indicated that the methods followed in national elections are now transparent to all. In the public meeting, Raj Thackeray showed an old video of Prime Minister Modi, who was during the tenure of the opposition party. In this video, Modi accused the Election Commission of bias. He said that BJP had made similar complaints even when it was not in power, thereby criticizing the current leadership of the party. He stressed that discrepancies in electoral rolls were a long-standing issue, which he said was related to electronic voting machines and electoral rolls as far back as 2016-17. These allegations come to light as preparations for local elections intensify, raising concerns about the fairness of the electoral process in Maharashtra. The Election Commission has not yet issued any statement on Raj Thackeray’s claims. –IANS DKP/