Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Sunday (October 19, 2025) attacked the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging that nearly 96 lakh fake voters had been added to the State’s electoral rolls ahead of the local body elections.
Addressing booth-level party workers at NESCO, Goregaon in Mumbai, Mr. Thackeray demanded a complete clean-up of the voters’ list before any polls were held, calling the alleged manipulation a “mockery of democracy.”
He claimed that Mumbai alone had 8–10 lakh fake voters, with similar numbers in Thane, Pune, and Nashik, and warned that such rigging would be an insult to genuine voters across Maharashtra. “They have done this in every village and city. If elections are held like this, it is an insult to voters in Maharashtra and the country,” the MNS chief said.
Mr. Thackeray accused the ruling party of attempting to “fix” the elections by flooding the rolls with bogus entries. “It doesn’t matter whether you vote or not. The match is already fixed,” he claimed, questioning the legitimacy of the democratic process.
He also responded to critics of the MNS’s poor electoral performance, arguing that skewed voter data undermined fair representation. “How will my party have MLAs and MPs if the voting arithmetic itself is compromised?” he asked.
During the speech, Mr. Thackeray played a clip of Narendra Modi from his time as Gujarat Chief Minister, where he had criticised the ECI, to highlight what he called hypocrisy now that the BJP was in power.
He alleged that MLAs from the ruling party had privately admitted to voter list tampering and slammed the ECI’s decision to freeze voter list updates after July 25, which, he said, disenfranchised thousands of young voters.
Ballot paper voting
The MNS chief called for a return to ballot paper voting, arguing that it would restore transparency and trust in the electoral process.
Beyond electoral concerns, Mr. Thackeray raised alarm over infrastructure shifts, claiming that Mumbai airport operations would soon be moved to Navi Mumbai, and cargo services to the upcoming Vadhavan Port in Palghar. He alleged that land around these projects would be handed over to the Adani Group, warning against development that sidelined Marathi interests.
“I will not tolerate development built over the tomb of Marathi people,” the MNS chief declared. He claimed that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had opposed the merger of Mumbai with Maharashtra, invoking Marathi identity and pride.
He also touched on language politics, questioning the imposition of Hindi in Maharashtra. “Why should we learn Hindi when Hindi-speaking States are economically backward, and non-Hindi States are progressive? Marathi language and culture are non-negotiable,” Mr. Thackeray said warning against any compromise.
He urged all parties to verify voter lists door-to-door and announced a joint Opposition rally on November 1 in Mumbai, alongside Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, to demand the removal of fake voters.
Following the speech, a joint press conference was held at the Sena Bhavan in Mumbai where Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar, NCP (SP)’s Jayant Patil, and Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant echoed Mr. Thackeray’s concerns.
Mr. Raut said even ruling party MLAs Manda Mhatre (BJP) and Sanjay Gaikwad (Shiv Sena) had acknowledged irregularities in the voter lists.
“Electoral rolls should be clean. All major parties apart from the ruling ones are raising this issue. The ECI is not ready to accept that the voters’ lists are flawed. We have to give the ECI a jolt by hitting the streets,” he said.
Mr. Raut said lakhs of disenfranchised voters would participate in the rally, which would be led by Mr. Pawar, Mr. Uddhav Thackeray, and Mr. Raj Thackeray, with invitations extended to senior Congress leaders. Another press conference by Mr. Pawar and the Thackeray cousins was expected in the coming days, he said.
“If the ECI is going to throw a challenge before us, we are ready to accept it,” Mr. Raut said.
Earlier, on October 14, Opposition leaders met State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare and Chief Electoral Officer S. Chockalingam, submitting detailed representations about discrepancies in the voters’ lists. They have demanded rectification of anomalies ahead of the rural and urban body elections, which are to be completed by January 31, 2026.
The Maharashtra State Election Commission, meanwhile, has maintained that no political party can tamper with the electoral rolls and that all corrections and updates are being securely managed.
Congress’s Sachin Sawant said the ECI’s refusal to engage with Opposition concerns was “detrimental to democracy,” while NCP (SP)’s Mr. Jayant Patil said the November 1 protest would reflect public outrage. “We expect the poll body to rectify its mistake,” Mr. Patil said, adding that even ruling parties were welcome to join the morcha if they stood for democratic integrity.
Published – October 19, 2025 08:22 pm IST
