Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray have both raised concerns over “vote theft” in the state, urging their party workers to carefully examine electoral rolls for bogus entries. Their remarks come at a time when opposition parties, including Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, have also alleged widespread manipulation of voter lists across the country. The issue has gained traction ahead of upcoming local body elections, particularly the high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.
Uddhav Thackeray claimed that as many as 40–42 lakh “infiltrated voters” were added to Maharashtra’s electoral rolls after last year’s Lok Sabha elections. Addressing his party cadre, he urged them to verify whether voters in their wards had duplicate entries, stressing that bogus voting often takes place on polling day, sometimes with a single voter being recorded as casting ballots twice or even thrice. He emphasized the need to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process, alleging that systemic lapses have allowed manipulation to flourish.
Raj Thackeray, speaking at a public meeting in Pune, reminded supporters that he had been raising the issue of vote theft since 2016. He criticized the Election Commission for not taking the matter seriously, even after leaders from across the political spectrum — including Rahul Gandhi and BJP’s Anurag Thakur — voiced concerns about voter list fraud. The MNS leader directed his party workers to scrutinize electoral rolls thoroughly, underlining that fair elections are impossible without a clean and transparent voter database.
