Maharashtra local-body polls announced, Opposition claims rigging in voter lists

The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC), on Tuesday, finalised the dates for the upcoming 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats, amid strong opposition from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). The poll is set to take place on December 2, and the results will be declared on December 3.

The announcement came amid the opposition forces’ collective dissatisfaction over the alleged discrepancy in the state’s voter lists. Leaders like Sanjay Raut and Raj Thackeray had earlier claimed that the electoral lists carry many duplicate and fake entries.

The opposition leaders also asked the SEC to postpone further elections till the voter lists are cleaned and corrected properly. They also accused the SEC of showcasing bias to the ruling Mahayuti Alliance, consisting of the BJP, Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Addressing the issue, the State Election Commissioner, Dinesh Waghmare, emphasised that the SEC has taken out a new mechanism to tackle the issue. He stated that potential duplicate voters will be identified with a (**) mark on the list. These individuals will be contacted to confirm their intended polling station.

“Any potential duplicate voter who fails to respond but appears at a booth will be strictly verified and must sign a written declaration confirming they have not and will not vote elsewhere before being allowed to cast their ballot,” the Commissioner said.

He further added that the SEC is awaiting a response from the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding the concerns raised by the protesting opposition delegation.

The announcement has also triggered reactions in the state’s political circles as well. Cabinet Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule slammed the opposition’s claims by saying those are excuses, anticipating a defeat in the state polls.

He also added that the same voter list was used in the Lok Sabha polls, where the MVA won 31 out of 48 seats.

Bawankule’s opinion was echoed in the voice of BJP leader Subhash Deshmukh, who said, “The Opposition wants an excuse to get the elections postponed due to its definite defeat.”

The opposition, MVA, also expressed its views over the announcement of poll dates. Despite expressing their preparedness, all the stakeholders from the three political parties expressed their concerns over the electoral lists.

Ambadas Danve, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, said that the opposition bloc is ready. However, there’s a ‘lack of clarity’ on the voter lists. Former Home Minister and the NCP(SP) leader Anil Deshmukh alleged that the Election Commission is working under pressure from the ruling parties. Congress leader Nana Patole claimed that the people are angry at the Mahayuti government, and the Congress is ready to exploit the anger.

- Ends