The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance parties, namely Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar-led NCP, as well as the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), plan to organise a protest march to the office of the Maharashtra State Election Commission on November 1 against large-scale irregularities and bogus entries in the state’s voter list.
The protest march will be led by Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, and senior Congress leaders.
Significantly, the November 1 protest is expected to see participation from all Opposition parties in the state, after a similar march in Delhi earlier this month led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The announcement about the march was made by Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP and chief party spokesperson Sanjay Raut, along with senior Opposition leaders like Jayant Patil of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant and CPI leader Prakash Reddy, at a press conference held at Shiv Sena Bhavan, Dadar West.
“Despite meeting Election Commission officials for two consecutive days, no satisfactory response was received regarding complaints of voters’ list discrepancies. This is not just a protest, but a fight against what we call ‘match-fixing’ by the Election Commission,” Raut declared.
Raut alleged that there are nearly one crore bogus voters in Maharashtra’s voters’ list and urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to take corrective action. “Even ruling party MLAs have admitted irregularities in the voters’ list. November 1 will be a decisive day for Maharashtra and a significant moment for democracy. The protest march will be led by Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar and senior Congress leaders,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar-led NCP leader Jayant Patil criticised the Election Commission for its continued silence on the issue of bogus voters in the voters’ list. “The Election Commission must clarify what steps it is taking to remove duplicate and fake voters. Many addresses are incorrect, yet no action has been taken. The people of Maharashtra who believe in democracy should join this protest,” he said.
The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Bala Nandgaonkar said that there is widespread mistrust among people due to huge discrepancies in the voters’ list. “Even legislators have spoken about these issues. After we submitted a complaint, the Election Commission instructed district collectors to inquire which confirms that discrepancies exist. However, the responses received are vague and unsatisfactory,” he added.
Addressing party workers ahead of local body elections earlier, MNS chief Raj Thackeray said, “Reliable information has been received that 9.6 million (96 lakh) fake voters have been added to the voters’ list. This is an insult to the voters of Maharashtra and the country”.