MNS alleges 'major irregularities' in Thane voter list, party workers to protest

The Raj Thackerayled Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS on Sunday alleged serious irregularities in the votersrsquo list of Thane ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra local body elections reported the PTIAvinash Jadhav the MNS ThanePalghar chief claimed that preparations for the polls mdash including the compilation of voter lists and the process of inviting objections mdash were being carried out in a rushed manner and with ldquoadministrative biasrdquoHe alleged that there were major discrepancies involving several thousand voters between the approved ward boundaries and the voter lists In many instances he said entire buildings and groups of voters had been placed outside their designated wards according to the PTIJadhav added that the total number of voters in Thane had risen to 1649 lakh reflecting an unexpected increase of nearly 4 lakh voters mdash a jump of around 20ndash25 per cent per ward This he claimed indicated that the Election Commission and the civic administration were taking a biased approach to favour certain interests the news agency reportedThe MNS will march to the Thane Municipal Corporation headquarters on Monday to demand clarification and hold officials accountable Jadhav announced at a press conferenceTMC officials were not available for comment on the allegationsMeanwhile Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray on Sunday criticised the Maharashtra State Election Commission SEC alleging serious irregularities in the draft votersrsquo list released ahead of the December 2 Maharashtra local body electionsAaditya Thackeray claimed that the draft list uploaded on the SECrsquos website for Mumbai displayed a publication date different from the officially announced date of 20 November In a post on X the former state minister said the draft list was first scheduled for release on November 7 then postponed to November 14 before finally being uploaded on November 20However he alleged that when one of his partyrsquos officebearers purchased an official copy of the list from the BMCrsquos central election office the document bore a publication date of November 14Aaditya Thackeray described this discrepancy as an ldquoantinationalrdquo act by the authoritiesHe questioned why the Election Commission had held back the list for a week if it had indeed been finalised on November 14Aaditya Thackeray further asked whether the SEC was waiting for ldquoorders from political bossesrdquo and whether the list had been accessed or altered before being made publicCalling the issue ldquoa crimerdquo and ldquoantidemocraticrdquo Aaditya Thackeray accused both the BMCs central election office and the Election Commission of serious misconduct He added that his party would soon reveal more alleged violationsMaharashtra local body elections for 246 municipal councils and other civic bodies across Maharashtra are set to take place on December 2The SEC was still to comment on the allegationswith PTI inputs