MNS president Raj Thackeray on Saturday said he had been talking about `vote theft` since 2016, and the Election Commission should have conducted a probe when both Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the BJP`s Anurag Thakur alleged voter list frauds, reported news agency PTI.
Speaking to the local office-bearers of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in Pune ahead of municipal elections, he asked party workers to scrutinise voter lists carefully.
Referring to the allegations of manipulation of voter lists by Rahul Gandhi and Anurag Thakur, Thackeray said, “When members from Opposition as well as the government are raising doubts, the ECI should have investigated them, but it prefers to suppress the matter. The ECI will not do it, as it fears that the vote theft of the last 10 years will be exposed,” reported PTI.
“They have managed to form the government by stealing votes all these years,” he said, without specifying which political party he was talking about.
“Our candidates got defeated not because they did not get votes, but because the votes cast for them never reached them….Therefore, if we want success, we will have to expose their vote theft. Every party worker needs to scrutinise voter lists carefully,” he said, reported PTI.
The MNS could not win a single seat in the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections.
While the INDIA bloc is accusing the government of vote theft ahead of the Bihar assembly polls, he has been raising the issue for the past nine years, Raj Thackeray said.
“Vote theft has been taking place for the last ten years. I have been speaking about it since 2016. I also met Sharad Pawar, Sonia Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee and other opposition members. In 2017, I had suggested boycotting the polls,” he said, reported PTI.
Mahayuti can`t win if polls are conducted with honesty: Uddhav Thackeray
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday claimed that the BJP-led Mahayuti can not win in Maharashtra if elections are conducted with honesty, reported PTI.
He also criticised the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for allowing the Indian team to play with Pakistan in the Asia Cup.
Speaking at an event of the Maharashtra Rajya Shikshak Sena, a teachers` union affiliated to his party, Thackeray said teachers who are roped in for election work should ensure that votes are not stolen.
“They (Mahayuti alliance) cannot win if elections are held honestly, certainly not in Maharashtra. Rahul Gandhi has exposed how they stole votes. He has torn their `burqa` (veil),” the Sena (UBT) chief said, reported PTI.
The Mahayuti alliance of the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and NCP won the 2024 Maharashtra legislative assembly election in a landslide, securing 235 out of 288 seats.
Thackeray, meanwhile, also targeted the Union government and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for allowing the Indian team to play with Pakistan in the Asia Cup.
It is good that people hit the streets in their thousands for the protection of elephants, dogs and pigeons, he said, referring to recent protests.
“There should be humanity. But where is your humanity when our civilians are killed in Pahalgam, when our soldiers are killed? Our defence minister said that Operation Sindoor is still on. The prime minister said blood and water cannot flow together,” he said, reported PTI.
“How do you (then) give permission to play a cricket match with Pakistan,” Thackeray asked.
(With inputs from PTI)
