Leaders from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Friday alleged the ruling parties of removing voters who support the opposition from the electoral rolls ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra elections. At a press conference, the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP) leaders said the Election Commission of India (ECI) lacks transparency and that its officials are working under pressure from those in power.
However, rejecting the claims, BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said, “It is not possible to delete 10,000 names from the voter list. If the MVA can go to court for 12 MLAs, they should also do the same for the voters and prove their claims in court.”
The MVA leaders have submitted the complaint letter to the ECI regarding this issue. Maharashtra’s assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with the vote counting set for November 23.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole, along with other leaders, called for the removal of the state’s Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla to ensure fair and transparent elections. Patole alleged that Form 7, which is supposed to be used to remove names from the voters’ list for valid reasons, is being misused to take off voters who support opposition parties. He blamed Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis for this.
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Opposition leader Vijay Wadettiwar urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to reject Form 7, alleging it was being misused. “We've observed that in constituencies where the MVA led in the Lok Sabha elections, between 2,500 and 10,000 voters have been removed,” he stated.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, there was confusion in many parts of Maharashtra as voters could not find their names on the voter list. In cities like Mumbai, Pune, Kalyan, Bhiwandi and Sambhajinagar, several voters faced this issue, leading many to return from the polling stations without voting. To prevent this from happening in the upcoming assembly elections, the MVA has written to the ECI, urging them to take note of the situation.
NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad called on the ECI to release a white paper on the voter list. He criticised the poor quality of the printed lists, stating they were illegible and contained incorrect names, addresses and photographs. “The manner in which this election is being handled is highly questionable. It’s a disgrace,” Awhad remarked.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Opposition Leader in the Council, Ambadas Danve, claimed that 6,000 voters were missing from the Nashik Central assembly constituency’s electoral list. He noted that despite reporting this issue to the district collector, no action was taken. Danve also alleged that in the Aurangabad Central and Sillod constituencies, both held by ruling party members, approximately 27,000 new voters were added to the rolls, raising concerns about potential manipulation.
