Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Sunday (October 19, 2025) hit out at the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging that nearly 96 million fake voters were added to the state’s electoral rolls ahead of the local body elections.
Addressing party workers at NESCO, Goregaon in Mumbai, Mr. Thackeray demanded a complete cleanup of the electoral roll before any elections are held, calling the alleged manipulation a “mockery of democracy”.
He claimed that Mumbai alone has 8-10 lakh fake voters, with similar numbers in Thane, Pune and Nashik, and warned that such manipulation would be an insult to genuine voters across Maharashtra. “They have done this in every village and town. If elections are held like this, it is an insult to the voters of Maharashtra and the entire country,” the MNS chief said.
Mr Thackeray accused the ruling party of trying to “fix” the election by flooding the lists with fake entries. “It doesn’t matter if you vote or not. The match is already fixed,” he declared, questioning the legitimacy of the democratic process.
He also responded to critics of the MNS’s poor electoral performance, arguing that skewed voter data was undermining fair representation. “How will my party have MLAs and MPs if the very arithmetic of voting is disturbed?” he asked.
During the speech, Mr Thackeray played a clip of Narendra Modi from when he was chief minister of Gujarat criticizing the ECI to highlight what he called hypocrisy now that the BJP is in power.
Also Read: Widespread anomalies in electoral roll delay local body elections in Maharashtra, opposition parties say
He alleged that MLAs from the ruling party had privately admitted to tampering with the electoral roll and criticized the ECI’s decision to freeze updates to the electoral roll after July 25, which he said disenfranchised thousands of young voters.
Voting on ballots
The MNS chief called for a return to ballot voting, saying it would restore transparency and confidence in the electoral process.
Apart from electoral concerns, Mr. Thackeray has raised alarm over infrastructure shifts, claiming that operations of the Mumbai airport will soon shift to Navi Mumbai and cargo traffic to the upcoming Vadhavan port in Palghar. He claimed that the land around these projects would be handed over to the Adani Group and warned against the development displacing Maratha interests.
“I will not tolerate development built over the tomb of the Maratha people,” the MNS chief declared. He claimed that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was against the merger of Bombay with Maharashtra, invoking Marathi identity and pride.
He also touched upon the language policy and questioned the imposition of Hindi in Maharashtra. “Why should we learn Hindi when Hindi-speaking states are economically backward and non-Hindi states are progressive? Marathi language and culture are non-negotiable,” Mr. Thackeray warned against any compromise.
He urged all parties to verify the housewives’ voter lists and announced a joint opposition rally on November 1 in Mumbai, alongside Sharad Pawar and Uddhava Thackeray, to demand the removal of fake voters.
After the speech, a joint press conference was held at the Sena Bhavan in Mumbai where Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar, NCP (SP) Jayant Patil and Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant echoed Mr Thackeray’s concerns.
Mr. Raut said even ruling party MLAs Manda Mhatre (BJP) and Sanjay Gaikwad (Shiv Sena) have acknowledged the irregularities in the voter lists.
“Electoral rolls should be clean. All major parties except the ruling ones are raising this issue. ECI is not ready to accept that electoral rolls are flawed. We have to take ECI to the streets,” he said.
Mr. Raut said that thousands of disenfranchised voters will attend the rally, which will be chaired by Mr. Pawar, Mr. Uddhav Thackeray and Mr. Raj Thackeray, while senior Congress leaders will be invited. Another press conference by Mr. Pawar and the Thackeray cousins is expected in the coming days, he said.
“If the ECI puts a challenge before us, we are ready to accept it,” said Mr. Raut.
Earlier, on October 14, the opposition leaders met State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmar and Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam and submitted a detailed statement on the irregularities in the voter rolls. They demanded the rectification of the anomalies ahead of the rural and urban body elections to be completed by January 31, 2026.
The State Election Commission of Maharashtra, meanwhile, maintains that no political party can tamper with electoral rolls and that all corrections and updates are managed securely.
Congress’ Sachin Sawant said the ECI’s refusal to engage with opposition interests was “harmful to democracy”, while NCP’s (SP) Mr Jayant Patil said the November 1 protest would reflect public outrage. “We expect the electoral body to correct its mistake,” Patil said, adding that even ruling parties are welcome to join the morcha if they defend democratic integrity.
Published – 19 Oct 2025 20:22 IST
