Aaditya Thackeray Alleges Attempt To Block Opposition Votes

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday alleged that a disproportionately high number of Opposition representatives and workers have been listed as duplicate voters in Mumbai. He further claimed that the Election Commission (EC) may be attempting to hinder or slow down voting by Opposition supporters. Mr. Thackeray warned that unless the commission provides a satisfactory explanation, his party will launch a large-scale agitation on the issue.

According to Mr. Thackeray, 5.86 lakh voters have been classified as duplicates, with many Marathi voters’ names appearing multiple times. He alleged that several duplicate entries are not marked with the designated star symbol and expressed concern that names of deceased voters continue to appear on the rolls despite the submission of death certificates, raising questions about the possibility of proxy voting.

Demanding answers from the EC, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said, “In many cases, the names marked by EC as duplicate entries are actually not duplicate entries. Many of them are common Marathi names. There are approximately 50,000 names that have multiple entries in the electoral rolls, but not marked by the EC. Voters who have been long dead were present through voter lists in Vidhan Sabha polls, and some have even voted. In every ward, for every booth, we have made a list of such voters, with proof.”

Mr. Thackeray also cited specific cases, including that of party legislator Sunil Govind Shinde, whose name he said appears seven times in the voter list with different ages and photographs. Former mayor Shraddha Jadhav’s name appears eight times, while Congress legislator Jyoti Gaikwad and party MP Anil Desai also figure as duplicate entries, he alleged. “The Election Commission has shown 14 lakh duplicate voters that will be removed. Our legislator’s name was listed seven times with different ages and photos. Is the Election Commission running a circus?” he asked, while seeking an extension of the deadline for suggestions and objections to the draft rolls of municipal corporations in Maharashtra.