A fresh political slugfest has erupted between the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and the ruling Mahayuti over the upcoming local body elections. A delegation of the MVA (Congress, Shiv Sena [UBT], and NCP [SP] leaders) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray met the State Election Commission (SEC) and Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S Chockalingam in Mumbai on Wednesday, during which the delegation alleged major errors in the voters` list and said polls should not be held until these issues are fixed.
The MVA have demanded that the elections be postponed and conducted using ballot papers instead of EVMs. The MNS chief cited several irregularities, including a case where a girl’s age is more than double that of her father in one of the electoral rolls in suburban Mumbai. “When there are so many errors in the voters` list, how can one proceed with elections? What is the need to rush and hold local body elections?” Raj questioned. He added, “The election commission should first rectify the list and then announce polls. The local body polls have been delayed for nearly five years. Another delay of six months won`t make a difference.”
The last Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections were held in 2017, and the corporation’s five-year term ended in 2022. The BMC, 28 other municipal corporations, and other local body elections are expected to take place before January 31, 2026, as per the Supreme Court’s deadline. The MNS chief suggested that the commission should approach the apex court and request an extension in the deadline on the grounds that it needs to rectify voter lists.
On the other hand, Uddhav raised concern over the transparency of the elections and questioned why the polls would be held without the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system. “CCTV footage and video recordings of voting booths and voter lists are not made available. Now, polls without VVPAT. Is this being done to destroy evidence?” Uddhav asked.
The Thackeray cousins further launched a sarcastic attack on the election commission. “This would be an `Election for a Selection` case,” Uddhav said. Echoing similar sentiments, Raj said, “Is the election commission working for three parties (read as BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-headed NCP)?”
Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat and NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil also levelled serious allegations. Patil said, “Names are added and deleted without knowledge of the election commissions. Looks like some outsider is operating the system and handling the server of the commission.” Thorat claimed that there is political interference in the system. “Citizens should not accept this voter list and poll process,” the veteran Congress leader added.
The Opposition has decided to wait for another two to three days for the action from the election commission. “In case there is no action, we will meet again and decide our further course of action and announce our plans accordingly,” Raj and other opposition leaders said while concluding the press conference held in Mumbai after meeting the election commission official.
Mahayuti hit backs
Later in the day, Mahayuti leaders (BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-headed NCP) took a dig at the Opposition and the MNS for raking up the voter lists issue.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that had it been an attempt to improve the voter list, he too would support it. “But the opposition is trying to build a storyline and create a false narrative ahead of the election and results. So that, after losing, they will show these meetings and claim the elections were unfair,” he said and referred to the opposition as confused.
Shinde claimed that the opposition lacked confidence. “Even after so many parties joining hands, they know defeat is certain. That’s why the opposition is making such excuses,” he added. Reacting to the development, Ajit Pawar said, “In a democracy everyone has a right to meet anyone.”
