NEW DELHI, Oct 27: In the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi style, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray on Monday presented what he described as “evidence of widespread irregularities” and a “scam” in Mumbai’s voter lists, alleging that thousands of fake or duplicate entries could distort the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
Speaking at the party’s Nirdhar Melava event at the Worli Dome, Aditya showcased a detailed presentation highlighting alleged anomalies in the electoral rolls, adopting a format similar to that of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s voter list expos in Delhi. Party chief Uddhav Thackeray was also present at the event and addressed party workers on the upcoming civic poll strategy.
Aditya Thackeray claimed that a scrutiny of the voter lists conducted under his leadership for the Worli constituency alone uncovered around 22,000 discrepancies. Calling the findings “deeply concerning,” he urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to investigate and correct the irregularities, stressing the need for transparency and accountability.
He also directed Shiv Sena (UBT) functionaries across Mumbai to conduct similar audits in their wards and “keep a close watch to prevent bogus voting.” Thackeray presented several examples of anomalies allegedly discovered in the lists:
- Voters ‘reborn’: The name of a deceased voter, Narhari Kulkarni, was found deleted from the Lok Sabha voter list but had inexplicably reappeared on the Vidhan Sabha list.
- Missing or duplicate EPICs: The review found 28 voters without Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers, 133 voters with identical EPICs under different names, and 3,856 individuals issued two EPIC numbers each, totalling 7,810 cards.
- Data discrepancies: The team found 502 voters with identical names as their relatives, 720 voters with mismatched surnames between fathers and sons, and 643 cases of gender mismatches in official records.
- Age and photograph issues: The list included 113 voters aged over 100, alongside numerous cases of missing or distorted photographs.
- Fictitious addresses:Field verification found 38 voters registered at a small room capable of housing only five people, and 46 voters listed at the address of a demolished Ghasitaram sweet shop, where no one resides.
Calling the situation “a deliberate attempt to manipulate voter data,” Aditya said the pattern of errors suggested systemic malpractice rather than clerical mistakes. “This is not a clerical error, it’s a scam. We owe it to the people of Mumbai to protect their democratic rights,” he told the gathering, urging the Election Commission to take “urgent corrective action.”
Uddhav Thackeray, addressing the event later, said the findings reflected a “larger attempt to undermine fair elections” and called upon party workers to remain vigilant during the revision of electoral rolls.
(Manas Dasgupta)