The Opposition leaders in Maharashtra on Tuesday asked the poll officials as to why there was no Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls had been conducted in state, especially since it was carried out recently in Bihar ahead of elections there, reported the PTI.
The Opposition leaders including Sharad Pawar (NCP–SP), Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena-UBT) and Raj Thackeray (MNS), met senior election officials on Tuesday to flag serious irregularities in the electoral rolls ahead of the upcoming local body elections.
The delegations raised multiple concerns with Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam and State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare, ranging from duplicate and unauthorised voter entries to the absence of VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) in local elections.
The unusual coming together of the Thackeray cousins, Raj and Uddhav, further fuelled speculation of a possible alliance in the crucial elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other civic bodies across the state.
Meanwhile, the state Opposition leaders claimed that names of migrants had been listed in both Maharashtra and their home states, creating dual registrations, especially in urban regions like Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nashik, and Kalyan-Dombivli, as per the PTI.
A memorandum submitted by the parties called for an immediate SIR-like review in Maharashtra, Use of VVPATs in civic polls, transparent and up-to-date voter lists and action against duplicate or fraudulent entries. In some instances, officials claimed that one house had over 170 registered voters. In Jogeshwari, voter names reportedly appeared in multiple languages, raising further concerns, the news agency reported.
The Opposition has demanded a joint meeting with the CEO and SEC to address these issues before elections are held. NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil said, “If these anomalies are not resolved, the same mess will continue into the polls,” reported the PTI.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) Sanjay Raut said that a press conference would be held after follow-up discussions on Wednesday, as the Election Commission needed more time.
The State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare clarified that assembly-level voter list management falls under the Election Commission of India, not the SEC.
MNS’ Sandeep Deshpande also highlighted irregularities in specific constituencies. In contrast, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde dismissed the meeting as mere political posturing, dubbing the Opposition as the “Maha Confused Aghadi”.
He also took a dig at Uddhav Thackeray, saying he used to visit Mantralaya virtually as CM and had now returned “not for work, but for whining.”
Despite political differences, several leaders, including those from Congress, Left parties, and Samajwadi Party, emphasised the need for free, fair, and transparent elections, the news agency reported.
