The Opposition will move court against voter list anomalies as Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray alleged that around 4,500 bogus votes were cast in the Malabar Hill assembly constituency by people registered in areas of Kalyan Rural, Bhiwandi and Murbad.
Leaders from the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, Sharad Pawar’s NCP, and the MNS held a protest rally in Mumbai on Saturday. The rally was organised to protest against large-scale irregularities in the voters’ list.
Addressing the crowd and referring to leaders from the ruling parties asking for proof of bogus voting, Raj cited case studies from the Malabar Hill assembly constituency. “4,500 people registered in Kalyan, Murbad and Bhiwandi exercised their rights in Mumbai. I have a couple of case studies. This is just one example. There are lakhs of such cases,” the MNS chief added and questioned the hurry in conducting polls without rectifying the electoral rolls.
Raj further urged people to deal with such cases in their own style if any bogus voter is found near a polling station on voting day.
“Teach a lesson to such erring people before handing them over to the police,” Raj said, adding, “This rally is about strength, anger and sending a message to Delhi.”
In the last few days, the entire Opposition has held several rounds of meetings with State Election Commission officials, asking them to postpone the elections until the errors in the voters’ list are rectified.
With no response to their demand, the Opposition now plans a legal battle over the anomalies in the electoral rolls.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray said, “We will go to court against the irregularities in the voters’ list. We hope to get justice. But if we do not get justice, then it is for the people to decide whether such elections should be allowed.”
