A fresh political slugfest has erupted between the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and the ruling Mahayuti over the upcoming local body elections.   A delegation of the MVA (Congress, Shiv Sena [UBT], and NCP [SP] leaders) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray met the State Election Commission (SEC) and Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S Chockalingam in Mumbai on Wednesday, during which the delegation alleged major errors in the voters' list and said polls should not be held until these issues are fixed.

The MVA have demanded that the elections be postponed and conducted using ballot papers instead of EVMs. The MNS chief cited several irregularities, including a case where a girl’s age is more than double that of her father in one of the electoral rolls in suburban Mumbai. “When there are so many errors in the voters' list, how can one proceed with elections? What is the need to rush and hold local body elections?” Raj questioned. He added, “The election commission should first rectify the list and then announce polls. The local body polls have been delayed for nearly five years. Another delay of six months won't make a difference.”