According to MP Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena (UBT), Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), Congress, and Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will take part in the protest at Mumbai
Sanjay Raut and other opposition leaders at Shiv Sena Bhavan, Dadar, during the press conference. Pic/Ashish Raje
On November 1, the leaders of Maharashtra's opposition parties, including Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), and Congress, will come together for a protest in Mumbai against the Election Commission's decision to move ahead with the local body elections without updating and correcting the voter list, despite their request for it. The leaders allege that many names are missing or wrongly listed, and are demanding a corrected voter list before local polls are conducted. The Supreme Court has set January 31, 2026, as the deadline to complete the polls for the Mumbai civic body and 28 other municipal corporations and local bodies in Maharashtra.
The announcement was made by Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Parliament (MP) Sanjay Raut on Sunday during a joint press conference by opposition leaders at Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar.
Speaking at the press conference, MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar said that the protest will be held to "save democracy".
Earlier in the day, MNS chief Raj Thackeray had challenged the Election Commission, saying it should not proceed with elections unless the errors in the electoral lists are corrected.
He also revived his famous line “Lav re to video” and showed old clips of then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and current Maharashtra MLAs discussing irregularities in voter lists.
Raj Thackeray launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission, alleging that election results are already “fixed,” and questioned the purpose of citizens standing in long queues to exercise their rights and political parties contesting polls if it is “match fixing”.
During his speech at NESCO in Goregaon on Sunday, Raj Thackeray claimed that he has verified information of around 96 lakh false voters being added to the electoral rolls.
“In Mumbai, around 8 lakh fake voters have been added. In Thane, too, an equal number of bogus voters have been added. The same is the case with other municipal corporations like Nashik and Pune,” the MNS chief said.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, a delegation of opposition parties met the State Election Commission (SEC) and Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). During the meeting, Raj Thackeray, citing massive irregularities in the electoral roll, demanded that elections should not be held unless the errors in the voter lists are rectified.
The last BMC elections were held in 2017, and the corporation’s five-year term ended in 2022.
Raj Thackeray urged voters to stay alert and instructed his party workers to visit every home and cross-check the electoral rolls.
“I request citizens to cooperate with the party workers to clean the rolls,” Raj Thackeray added.
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