Ahead of the Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray or UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, addressing a press conference in Mumbai on Sunday, levelled serious allegations against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including tampering with voters’ lists in both States with the help of the Election Commission of India (ECI).“There is manipulation happening in the voters’ lists in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Similar attempts were made in Haryana. The BJP is trying to mess up the voters’ lists with the help of the ECI.
They [the BJP] are removing 10,000 voters who voted for Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in every constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, and replacing those 10,000 voters with another 10,000 bogus voters, thus reducing our chances of winning. We will raise this issue on international platforms to let people know how democracy is being destroyed in this country,” Mr. Raut told the reporters.
He further alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah is working towards imposing President’s Rule in Maharashtra, even after the upcoming assembly elections.“But we will not let this happen,” he said, adding that his party plans to raise the issue of voter list manipulation on international platforms to expose what he described as attempts to undermine democracy. Raut informed, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has called a special meeting of party leaders at 12:30 pm today to discuss the situation and take “an important decision.” Election for the 288-member Maharashtra legislative assembly is scheduled to take place on November 20. Counting of votes will take place on November 23 and the results are also likely to be announced on the same day.