Maharashtra Assembly Polls 2024: MVA accuses Maha Yuti of tinkering voters’ list

Mumbai: In a serious charge in the run up to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, the opposition Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi has accused the ruling BJP-led Maha Yuti of large scale manipulation in voters’ list. 

According to the opposition, this was impacting the free and fair elections in Maharashtra - which was assured by the Election Commission of India. 

A MVA delegation comprising leaders of Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) called on state’s Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam and submitted a memorandum on the issue. 

The delegation comprised Leader of the Opposition in Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar, his counterpart in the Council Ambadas Danve, state Congress President Nana Patole, state Congress Working President and Congress Working Committee invitee member Naseem Khan, Congress group leader in Council Satej alias Bunty Patil, NCP (SP) leader Dr Jitendra Awhad and Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Anil Desai. 

To prove their point, the MVA submitted the case of Chikhli (Buldhana district), where it alleged massive manipulation. 

"Names of voters leaning towards the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) are being removed from the voters list. This is being done because the BJP is losing polls," said Patole, a former Speaker, adding that the BJP wants to win the elections by hook or crook.

"We have observed that seats where the MVA received a lead in the Lok Sabha elections have seen deletion of 2,500 to 10,000 voters," said Wadettiwar. 

“The names of 6,000 voters were missing from the list in the Nashik Central assembly seat, and no cognizance  was taken about this despite raising the issue with the Collector,” added Danve.

Patole claimed  that there is a blatant misuse of the online Form No. 7 through which big chunks of names are being deleted/omitted from the voter lists, mostly the supporters of the MVA parties, as the MahaYuti is feeling rattled before the elections.

Dr Awhad said that there is a conspiracy to remove at least 5000 names from the voter lists in all the 288 Assembly constituencies in the state with the intention of  benefitting the ruling allies BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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