Raj Thackeray Alleges Manipulation of Electoral Process in BMC Polls

Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday raised concerns over the fairness of the ongoing Maharashtra municipal elections, asserting that he does not consider it a legitimate election if power is gained through fraudulent means.

Shiv Sena (UBT) is contesting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections in alliance with Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

Speaking to reporters after casting his vote in Mumbai in the ongoing BMC elections, Thackeray alleged that a voting machine called "PADU" is being used, about which political parties were not given any prior information by the State Election Commission. He demanded an explanation from the Election Commission regarding the issue. Printing Auxiliary Display Unit (PADU) act as a backup in case of any emergency or technical error in connecting the voting units to the control unit.

"After that, there is the issue of VVPAT, where it was said that it would not be used. Then a machine called "PADU" was brought in. There is practically no opposition or opposition leader at all. It is the government that decides how elections should be conducted. We will not allow this to happen. It is a different matter that the machine was brought in, but complete information about this machine has not been provided by the Election Commission to any political party," Raj Thackeray said.

"Even after repeated complaints and requests, information about this machine has not been given. The Election Commission should give a clear explanation on this. We do not call it an election when someone comes to power by conducting elections in such a fraudulent manner," he added.

The MNS chief also raised concerns about irregularities during voting, citing instances where repolling was required. He alleged that an earlier ink was used for marking votes, but now a new pen has been introduced and highlighted complaints have emerged that its ink can be erased if sanitiser is applied.

"Even after submitting written representations, nothing has been done. Till now, the link that used to be applied--now a new pen has been introduced, and complaints are coming about that pen. If sanitiser is applied, the ink gets erased. Now all that remains is that ink is applied, then you come out, erase the ink, and then go back inside and vote again. I want to inform all of you about how the system is being run. When we started this, the intention in one way or another was to win elections. On this matter, the government and the administration are doing everything. The issue of re-polling came up," Raj Thackeray said.

He urged voters, especially Matoshree Sainiks and women supporters, to remain vigilant during the elections. Thackeray also criticised new campaigning rules, stating they demonstrate how the government can manipulate the process to maintain power. "I appeal to the people, the Shiv Sena workers, and the Matoshree Sena workers to be vigilant about all these things. A person was caught casting a vote twice..." Thackeray said.

29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra have gone to the polls today as a high-voltage campaign came to an end, setting the stage for a decisive political contest in key urban centres including Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

The Mahayuti is contesting the local body polls largely together, except in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, where the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has chosen to ally with Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP). In Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, both NCP factions have come together under a joint manifesto.

The main political battle remains centred on Mumbai and Pune, where the BJP-led Mahayuti will face the united Thackeray camp, as just ahead of the civic polls, Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray joined hands on the issue of "son of the soil" in a high-stakes fight for control of the BMC, the country's richest civic body. The last BMC elections were held in 2017.

In Pune, in a major political realignment, both factions of the NCP came together just before the civic polls for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), following a split in 2023. Ajit Pawar joined hands with Sharad Pawar again and contested against the NDA partner BJP in Pune, whereas Shivsena, led by Eknath Shidne opted to go solo in PMC after failing to set up an acceptable seat-sharing formula with BJP. According to the State Election Commission (SEC), a total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots to decide the fate of 15,908 candidates contesting 2,869 seats across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations. A total of 39092 Polling centre has been set up across the state.

Polling will be held on January 15 from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm, with vote counting scheduled to begin on Friday, January 16.