20 August,2026 01:08 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Uddhav Thackeray. File Pic
The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing them of using electoral rolls as a "political weapon to manipulate" upcoming elections.
In an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, the Thackeray-led party alleged systematic manipulation of voter rolls following reports that more than two crore voter names are being excluded across Maharashtra under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
The editorial described the voter revision process as a "corruption scheme" and alleged that the deletion of legitimate voters while duplicate entries are allegedly protected could be part of an attempt to influence election outcomes.
The Shiv Sena UBT editorial also raised concerns about younger voters, alleging that Gen Z voters are being deliberately targeted for disenfranchisement.
It claimed that young voters had recently led anti-government demonstrations across major urban centres, including Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik and Sambhajinagar, and alleged that their names were now at risk of being removed from electoral rolls.
"In Maharashtra, declaring 2.07 crore voters ineligible in its final stage is quite dangerous for democracy," the editorial stated, while questioning the complexity of the voter verification process.
"In a state where basic administration struggles with fundamental public needs, how can crushed voters hold their ground in this complex verification battle?" it asked.
The editorial also drew comparisons with electoral processes in West Bengal and Bihar, alleging that similar methods of electoral engineering had been used during previous Assembly elections.
It claimed that in West Bengal, 80 lakh voters were excluded during the Assembly election period and alleged that the BJP came to power relying on the resulting electoral numbers.
The editorial further alleged that a similar approach was followed in Bihar.
The claims made in the editorial are part of the Shiv Sena UBT's broader criticism of the functioning of the electoral system and its demand for greater transparency in the preparation and revision of voter lists.
The editorial also revisited the Maharashtra Assembly elections, raising questions over the addition of 42 lakh voters to the electoral rolls.
It alleged that there had been no clear explanation from the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra regarding the origins of the additional voters. The issue, the editorial noted, had earlier been raised by former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.
The party has sought greater clarity over changes in voter numbers and the procedures followed while preparing electoral rolls, particularly ahead of upcoming elections in the state.
The editorial also referred to recent comments attributed to former US President Donald Trump in which he praised India's electoral mechanism.
The Shiv Sena UBT dismissed the praise and responded sarcastically, suggesting that the "US import India's election management team to conduct American polls".
The remarks came as the party continued its criticism of the Election Commission and the electoral processes being followed in Maharashtra.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena called on opposition parties to remain vigilant and work together to identify and raise concerns over discrepancies in voter lists.
The party urged opposition groups to collectively scrutinise electoral rolls and expose what it described as administrative discrepancies ahead of upcoming elections.
The editorial argued that a coordinated response was necessary to protect voters' rights and democratic processes. It called for collective action by opposition parties rather than isolated efforts to challenge alleged irregularities in the electoral system.
