Raj and Uddhav Thackeray have urged the State Election Commission to hold civic elections using ballot papers and delay the process until voter list anomalies are corrected. Opposition leaders including Sharad Pawar and Jayant Patil also questioned the SEC over irregularities during a meeting at Mantralaya
Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray at the meeting in Mantralya on Tuesday. Pic/Atul Kamble
Thackeray cousins Raj and Uddhav have demanded that elections be held on a ballot paper and postpone municipal corporation and other elections till the state election commission rectifies the anomalies in the electoral list.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, during the meeting with the State Election Commission (SEC), suggested that the authority should inform the Supreme Court (SC) about problems in the electoral rolls and ask for time before announcing the election schedule. “For five years, the elections for local bodies were not held. What difference would it make? How does it matter now if the elections are delayed by another couple of months?” Raj said.
The much-awaited BMC and 28 other municipal corporations will go for polls before January 31, 2026. The apex court has given a final deadline of January 31, 2026, to hold polls, which have been delayed for nearly four to five years for municipal corporations.
The last BMC elections for 227 municipal corporation houses were held in 2017, and their tenure ended in 2022.
Raj’s cousin Uddhav claimed that elections are held without a voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) system for the polls. “Is this done to destroy evidence?” Uddhav alleged and said, “The commissions should mention that polls would be for the election for selection.”
On Tuesday, the delegation of opposition parties met CEO S Chokalingam in Mantralaya. The delegation again met on Wednesday to discuss their concerns about irregularities in voter lists and find solutions to them.
In the meeting, Sharad Pawar, NCP leader Jayant Patil and Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat also asked tough questions to the commission. In fact, it was during this meeting that MNS chief Raj Thackeray launched a veiled attack on the Election Commission and the BJP, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP and the Eknath Shinde-headed Shiv Sena. “Are you working for three parties (read as Mahayuti)?” Raj said and urged that the election should not be held unless concerns of all parties are addressed.
Earlier on Sunday Raj Thackeray visited Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray for lunch at Matoshree. Raj Thackeray meeting Shiv Sena (UBT) chief at Thackeray family’s residence in Bandra, sparked political curiosity across Maharashtra amid the strategies prepared by the cousins for the upcoming BMC civic polls.
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