BOTH the ruling and Opposition parties agree there are problems in the voter lists, but the debate has turned bitter. The BJP has accused the Opposition of fighting a “vote jihad,” while the Shiv Sena (UBT) has taunted Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis by referring to him as Maharashtra’s “Pappu,” as the BJP leader had accepted that there were errors in the electoral rolls.
Senior BJP leader Ashish Shelar accused the Opposition, especially Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray running a campaign selectively against Hindu (Marathi-speaking and Dalit) voters and sparing Muslims while presenting examples of fake and duplicate names of voters.
On Monday, taking a dig at the Thackeray cousins, Shelar said, “There are errors in the list. We do not want to discriminate against voters. By citing only Hindu names while describing irregularities in the electoral rolls, the Opposition, especially Raj and Uddhav, is doing nothing but ‘vote jihad’. The Thackeray cousins can continue their fight against the BJP, but I request them to reject the ideology of minority appeasement, which other Opposition partners [Congress] have been doing for ages.”
Opposition’s allegations
The BJP leader was responding to the Opposition protest rally against irregularities in voter lists held in Mumbai on Saturday. In this rally, Raj gave examples of Marathi voters surnamed Bhoir and Patil registered in Mumbai and outside the city. He also claimed these people were voting in the Malabar Hill Assembly constituency and at other places outside Mumbai.
Replying to the charges, the former Mumbai BJP president and minister in the Mahayuti government further cited the Assembly constituencies of Rohit Pawar (NCP-SP), Nana Patole (Congress), Jayant Patil (NCP-SP), Jitendra Awhad (NCP-SP), Varun Sardesai of the Shiv Sena (UBT), among other Opposition leaders. “The winning margin of almost every candidate I have mentioned is smaller than the number of duplicate voters from the Muslim community registered in their respective constituencies,” Shelar alleged.
While presenting examples of repeated (dubaar) voters in 31 Assembly constituencies, the BJP minister asked, “Should I say that the Opposition candidates won because of voters from minority communities?”
The Opposition, while citing irregularities in the voter lists, has been claiming that ruling party members won the Assembly election due to anomalies in the electoral rolls and have demanded the resignation of ruling party MLAs.
Referring to this demand, Shelar asked, “On the same grounds, will Raj and Uddhav ask for the resignation of members from the Opposition camp, too?”
Further drawing parallels between Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections held in 2024, Shelar claimed that MVA bagged 2.50 crore votes during the general elections, while Mahayuti got 2.48 crore votes. “There are around 16 lakh duplicate voters, most of them from minority and other communities. The difference is only two lakh votes, but the difference between the seats won by the MVA is much higher than Mahayuti. Should we say that the MVA won the parliamentary polls with the help of these minority voters?” he stated.
Taking a dig at the Opposition and citing Congress`s opposition to the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, Shelar dared the Thackeray cousins to come openly in support of the SIR. “The BJP has been demanding a revision in voter lists. Both Raj and Uddhav should support the drive if they really want clean electoral lists,” the BJP minister added.
The BJP also slammed Raj and Uddhav for “targeting Marathi speakers” due to errors in the voter lists. “Initially, the Thackeray cousins targeted people from Bihar. Later, Gujaratis, Marwaris, Jains, and now Marathi speakers,” Shelar claimed.
The cousins have set aside their differences after 20 years and united for the cause of Marathi and Maharashtra pride.
Uddhav reacts
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader sarcastically applauded Shelar for admitting there were lapses in the electoral rolls. “Usually, I do not react to Ashish Shelar’s comments. But today, I should thank him for accepting that there are errors in the voter lists. By accepting the anomalies, Shelar has shown that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is Maharashtra’s Pappu,” he stated.
Uddhav refuted the charge that the Opposition selectively mentioned the names of Hindus. “We have shown cases where a person’s name is Hindu and his son’s name is that of a Muslim. This shows that we objected to errors, not individuals, based on their religion. Neither have we spared any particular community,” the Sena (UBT) chief added.
Uddhav`s Pappu jibe at the CM comes a week after Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray gave a presentation on errors in voter lists in his area. Reacting to this, Fadnavis had said, “I advise Aaditya not to become Maharashtra’s Pappu,” referring to a term used by ruling parties to mock Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
On the other hand, MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande asked why the BJP was responding when questions had been put to the Election Commission. “Why is the BJP getting so worked up?” Deshpande asked.
Gen-Z mention
Referring to June 1, 2025, as the cut-off date for the electoral list for local body polls, Uddhav said, “Those completing 18 years after the cut-off date cannot vote. What is the reason for not allowing these voters to exercise their franchise? Is the BJP government fearing Gen-Z voters?”
