Uddhav, Raj Thackeray raise issue of 'vote theft'

Mumbai: Amid speculation of an alliance between the Raj Thackeray-led MNS and his cousin Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT), both the leaders have raised the issue of “vote theft” and asked their party workers to check the electoral rolls to assess bogus voters.

Their comments come at a time when similar allegations of manipulation of voter lists have been made by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and other opposition parties.

In the last year’s elections to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly, the Shiv Sena (UBT), which contested the polls in alliance with the Congress and Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP), secured 20 seats, while the MNS did not win a single seat.

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There has been speculation of a possible alliance between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for the forthcoming local body polls in the state, including the influential and cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

On Sunday, Uddhav Thackeray claimed 40-42 lakh voters were “infiltrated” in the electoral rolls after the Lok Sabha elections (last year). He asked his party workers to check the electoral rolls to assess bogus voters.

“Check whether there is vote theft in your ward. Check the voters’ list and ensure that each person has only one vote,” he said.

On the day of polls, there is “bogus voting”, the former Maharashtra CM claimed, adding that at some places voting takes place twice, and even thrice, in the name of a single voter.

Speaking in Pune on Saturday, MNS president Raj Thackeray said he had been raising the issue of “vote theft” since 2016.

The Election Commission should have conducted a probe when both Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the BJP’s Anurag Thakur alleged voter list fraud, he said.

The MNS head also asked his party workers to scrutinise voter lists carefully.

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