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Mumbai, Oct 30 (IANS) Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday hit out at the Election Commission, the Center and the state government over alleged voting rigging and appealed to citizens to participate in large numbers in the opposition front on November 1 in Mumbai aimed at highlighting discrepancies in the voter list, including fake, duplicate and missing voters.
At a meeting with party officials, Thackeray demanded that local and civic body elections be postponed by a year to clean up the voter list. They also demonstrated how electronic voting machines (EVMs) can allegedly be misused and votes can be stolen.
“There have been no local or civic body elections in Maharashtra for the last five years. So first of all, clean the voter rolls. Don’t hold elections for another year – hold elections only when the rolls improve. After that, if we lose, we will accept it. But right now, the match is fixed,” Thackeray said, accusing the Election Commission of giving an “unacceptable and illogical” response.
He commented, “The Chief Election Commission says CCTV footage cannot be shared due to privacy concerns. Voting may be private, but how can voters have privacy? The Election Commission’s argument is not valid.”
He asserted that the honest voters of Maharashtra are being “insulted” by the current situation. He said, “If the results do not reflect the actual votes, it is an insult to democracy. All this must be corrected. Our march on November 1 must be massive – its echo must reach Delhi.”
Thackeray reiterated his demand for reintroduction of ballot papers and pointed out that “developed countries still use them.” He urged MNS workers to go door-to-door to identify duplicate entries and fake voters. “Those whose names are recorded twice should be removed. Legal cases are ongoing, but we will fight step by step. Maharashtra has always taken the first step – this time too, it will lead the fight against vote theft,” he said.
Emphasizing that Delhi “should know what is burning in Maharashtra,” Thackeray urged every voter to join the march. He said, “If your boss refuses to give you leave, slap him – he is also a voter. Elections should be transparent. Even Prime Minister Modi once said that ballot papers are better – take it seriously.”
Announcing that he would travel by suburban train to reach the morcha venue in south Mumbai, Thackeray asked voters to remain alert during the upcoming local elections. He quipped, “If you don’t pay attention, you’ll go bananas.”
He said, “People say that crowds come to Raj Thackeray’s meetings but there are no votes. It is because of all these irregularities – otherwise, the whole country would have been shaken.”
Thackeray also targeted Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, calling him a “hypocrite” for becoming the chief minister despite holding the post earlier.
–IANS
SJ/PGH