The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Sunday alleged serious irregularities in the voters’ list of Thane ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra local body elections, reported the PTI.
Avinash Jadhav, the MNS Thane-Palghar chief, claimed that preparations for the polls — including the compilation of voter lists and the process of inviting objections — were being carried out in a rushed manner and with “administrative bias”.
He alleged that there were major discrepancies involving several thousand voters between the approved ward boundaries and the voter lists. In many instances, he said, entire buildings and groups of voters had been placed outside their designated wards, according to the PTI.
Jadhav added that the total number of voters in Thane had risen to 16.49 lakh, reflecting an unexpected increase of nearly 4 lakh voters — a jump of around 20–25 per cent per ward. This, he claimed, indicated that the Election Commission and the civic administration were taking a biased approach to favour certain interests, the news agency reported.
The MNS will march to the Thane Municipal Corporation headquarters on Monday to demand clarification and hold officials accountable, Jadhav announced at a press conference.
TMC officials were not available for comment on the allegations.
Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Sunday criticised the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC), alleging serious irregularities in the draft voters’ list released ahead of the December 2 Maharashtra local body elections.
Aaditya Thackeray claimed that the draft list uploaded on the SEC’s website for Mumbai displayed a publication date different from the officially announced date of 20 November. In a post on X, the former state minister said the draft list was first scheduled for release on November 7, then postponed to November 14, before finally being uploaded on November 20.
However, he alleged that when one of his party’s office-bearers purchased an official copy of the list from the BMC’s central election office, the document bore a publication date of November 14.
Aaditya Thackeray described this discrepancy as an “anti-national” act by the authorities.
He questioned why the Election Commission had held back the list for a week if it had indeed been finalised on November 14.
Aaditya Thackeray further asked whether the SEC was waiting for “orders from political bosses” and whether the list had been accessed or altered before being made public.
Calling the issue “a crime” and “anti-democratic”, Aaditya Thackeray accused both the BMC`s central election office and the Election Commission of serious misconduct. He added that his party would soon reveal more alleged violations.
Maharashtra local body elections for 246 municipal councils and other civic bodies across Maharashtra are set to take place on December 2.
The SEC was still to comment on the allegations.
(with PTI inputs)
