The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) are set to proceed with their joint rally in Mumbai on Saturday, despite not receiving police permission for the event.
The rally has been organised to protest against alleged manipulation of the electoral roll in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, with opposition parties claiming that nearly 96 lakh fake votes were added during the 2024 polls.
The demonstration, scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., will start from Metro Cinema in south Mumbai and proceed towards the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) office.
Leaders from both the MVA and MNS, including state Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray, and MNS chief Raj Thackeray, are expected to take part in the rally.
Raj Thackeray, who has been vocal on the issue, recently criticised the Election Commission (EC) for alleged irregularities in voter registration. On October 26, he claimed that around 9.6 million fake voters had been added to the electoral list ahead of the local body elections.
Addressing party workers, the MNS chief said, “Reliable information has just been received that 9.6 million fake voters have been added. This is an insult to the voters of Maharashtra and the country. All the group presidents, branch presidents, and election list heads should go door to door and count the votes. I’m asking the Election Commission not to hold elections in Maharashtra until this is clean.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut also supported Thackeray’s claims, alleging that large-scale electoral irregularities and “match-fixing” occurred during recent elections.
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He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “match fixing” and manipulating the electoral process for its benefit, urging a detailed investigation into the matter.
Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar echoed similar concerns, directly criticising the BJP for allegedly influencing the electoral roll to seize power.
“All our opposition parties, including Raj Thackeray’s party, are participating in it. They (NDA) stole votes and seized power. This theft has been caught, yet the Election Commission is not willing to listen. That’s why today’s protest demonstration is happening,” he said.
Several other opposition figures have joined in expressing concern over the issue. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and others have alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is working in collusion with the BJP to help the party secure electoral victories.
NCP-SCP leader Anil Deshmukh also commented on the matter, emphasising the need to correct errors in the voter list.
Referring to discrepancies found during verification, he said that 130 names had been registered under a single address, including that of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation commissioner, despite the official residing in a government bungalow.
Despite the absence of police permission, MVA and MNS leaders have declared that the rally will go ahead as planned, calling it a peaceful protest to demand transparency and accountability in the electoral process.
The parties have urged citizens to join the demonstration to “protect democracy” and ensure that the upcoming elections are conducted fairly and without manipulation.
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