Mumbai:
Thousands of people flocked to south Mumbai on Saturday for the “Satyacha Morcha” or Truth March organised by opposition parties in Maharashtra to protest against alleged vote theft and irregularities in the electoral rolls.
The march, from the Metro Cinema junction to the BMC headquarters, was led by cousins Raj and Uddhav Thackeray. Also present was the 84-year-old NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, who did not participate in the march but later joined the opposition leaders on a stage set up near the BMC headquarters.
In their characteristic styles, Raj and Uddhav urged their party workers to find and beat up bogus voters before handing them over to the police. They also accused the Election Commission of India of turning a blind eye to alleged voters list irregularities like multiple entries, wrongful deletions and additions, and demanded that the upcoming local body polls be held only after the electoral rolls are corrected.
Beyond highlighting the alleged anomalies, the march also aimed to project Opposition unity. Besides Uddhav’s Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) and other smaller opposition parties also participated in the march.
Addressing the crowd, Uddhav Thackeray announced that the Opposition would move court with evidence of voter list manipulation to safeguard democracy and ensure transparent elections. He also claimed that there was a bogus application for voter list verification made using his name with the help of a fake mobile number.
“I came to know about it when local officials from the election commission came to meet me, asking if I had submitted any application using the Saksham app. It seems that it’s a conspiracy to remove my family’s name from the voter list. It also indicates that some people have access to the system of the election commission,” said Uddhav.
Seeking the active participation of people in the battle against vote theft, the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief added, “Raj and I came together to fight for Maharashtra and your rights. Now, you all need to support us in this battle.”
In typical Sena fashion, he told his workers, “We don’t want to take the law into our hands, but if you find bogus voters, slap them and hand them over to police. We are going to court with all the evidence regarding vote theft and hope that at least the court will give justice.”
Raj Thackeray echoed his cousin’s stance: “To prevent bogus voting and vote theft, go to each house in your area once the election is announced. Verify each voter, and if you come across any bogus voter, just beat them before handing them over to the police.”
Raj also presented voter list documents from Kalyan and Murbad, alleging that 4,500 voters from these areas had voted in Malabar Hill during previous elections. He also alleged that there was duplication of hundreds of thousands of voters across different Lok Sabha constituencies, pointing to a stack of papers kept wrapped under a cloth near the stage. “Remove that cloth. This is proof regarding the duplication of names in the voter list across the state,” he said.
Sharad Pawar said that people’s faith in democracy and elections was shaken after the assembly elections in Maharashtra. “We need to protect the right to vote. Elections should be transparent. We have decided to prevent vote theft at any cost, and we all need to fight unitedly,” he said.
Late in the day, the Mumbai police registered a case against the organisers of the march for unlawful assembly and violating prohibitory orders. The police had not granted permission for the rally, an official told PTI. Police also did not specify how many people have been booked.
Reacting to the Opposition’s march, leaders from the ruling Mahayuti alliance admitted there were irregularities in the voter lists. Shiv Sena leader and minister Sanjay Shirsat said, “Everybody knows that there are anomalies in the voter lists and it should be corrected. But in the name of it, the Opposition is doing a political stunt.”
NCP minister Hasan Mushrif added, “We also want the anomalies to be removed and the voter list to be corrected. But the Opposition is raising this issue to avoid elections out of the fear of defeat.”