‘Over 19,000 Bogus Votes’: Aaditya Thackeray Alleges Voter List Manipulation In Mumbai’s Worli

Last Updated:October 27, 2025, 19:57 IST

Aaditya Thackeray alleged major discrepancies in Worli voter lists, citing gender mismatches, duplicate EPICs, and bogus entries, urging scrutiny before BMC elections in Mumbai.

Thackeray emphasised that checking and rectifying the voter rolls ahead of upcoming local body elections is crucial. (X)

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Monday claimed that there were several discrepancies in the voter lists of his Worli constituency and alleged that bogus voting took place during last year’s Maharashtra assembly elections.

At the party’s Nirdhar Melava (Determination Rally) in Mumbai, the Yuva Sena chief, in a detailed presentation, modelled on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent demonstration in Delhi, highlighted how the alleged errors were committed and the potential impact they could have on the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.

According to him, 643 cases of gender mismatches were found, which the Election Commission attributed to printing errors. Additionally, his team identified 28 voters without EPIC (Elector’s Photo Identity Card) numbers, and 133 voters with duplicate EPIC numbers.

Thackeray also pointed out other inconsistencies, including 502 voters where the father’s name and the voter’s name were identical, and 720 cases where the voter’s surname differed from the father’s, with most such entries being male voters.

“In one instance, a person who had passed away and whose name was deleted during the Lok Sabha elections reappeared on the list for the state assembly polls with a different EPIC number," Thackeray said, questioning the accuracy of the voter rolls.

Comparing figures between 2024’s Lok Sabha and Maharashtra assembly elections, Thackeray highlighted an increase of around 16,000 voters in his constituency, Worli, but alleged that over 19,000 anomalies were detected during verification.

“All of us were expecting the MVA to form the government in the last assembly elections, but the results surprised everyone. Today, I am showing how a bogus voter list could have influenced that outcome," he said.

Thackeray emphasised that checking and rectifying the voter rolls ahead of upcoming local body elections is crucial to maintaining the integrity of the democratic process.

He urged party workers to carefully scrutinize every draft list released by the Election Commission to ensure transparency and fairness in the electoral process.

Shiv Sena (UBT) has repeatedly raised concerns about external voters allegedly being added to Maharashtra’s electoral rolls during the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections. Despite complaints and representations made to the Election Commission by opposition parties, the issue has remained unresolved, the party has alleged.

Drawing parallels, the party has cited Bihar’s voter list clean-up, where after verification, the number of registered voters dropped from 7.9 crore to 7.24 crore — eliminating nearly 48 lakh bogus entries. Sena leaders say a similar verification process in Mumbai revealed a “massive mess" in the voter rolls that could pave the way for manipulation.

Shobhit Gupta

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben...Read More

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben...

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News politics ‘Over 19,000 Bogus Votes’: Aaditya Thackeray Alleges Voter List Manipulation In Mumbai’s Worli

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