Uddhav Thackeray raises ballot paper demand at Shivaji Park Dussehra rally in Mumbai

Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday challenged the ruling government to hold elections using ballot papers alleging irregularities in the electoral process as he addressed the partyrsquos 60th Dussehra rally at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park in DadarThackeray also criticised the government over farmersrsquo loan waivers questioned the Mumbai Policersquos response to the attack on Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff and took aim at the labelling of young protesters as ldquoUrban Naxalsrdquo ldquoDimagi Naxalsrdquo and ldquocockroachesrdquo An effigy of Ravan symbolising alleged ldquovote chorirdquo was set ablaze after the rallyBallotpaper challengeThackeray renewed his demand for elections to be conducted using ballot papers challenging the government to do so if it had the courageQuestioning the alleged deletion of votersrsquo names from electoral rolls he said ldquoThe voting rights of 13 crore people have been taken away across the country Are the 13 crore people whose names have been deleted from the electoral rolls BangladeshisrdquoHe also praised Abhijeet Dipke chief of the Cockroach Janta Party and reiterated his support for him Thackeray criticised the government for allegedly describing Gen Z and young people protesting on the streets as ldquoUrban Naxalsrdquo ldquoDimagi Naxalsrdquo and ldquocockroachesrdquoQuestions cops over Tiger attackReferring to the attack on actor Tiger Shroff Thackeray questioned the Mumbai Policersquos security measures and the effectiveness of nakabandisldquoThe police caught the culprits in record time I donrsquot know if I should praise the police I would have praised them if they had shot down the assailants before the attack What is the police doing What is the use of conducting nakabandisrdquo he askedShiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray addresses party workers at the partyrsquos Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park in Dadar on TuesdayThackeray also targeted the government over gangster Lawrence Bishnoi who is lodged in Sabarmati jail in Gujarat ldquoBishnoi is sitting in Sabarmati jail and eating fafda If Devendra Fadnavis has the guts he should go to Sabarmati and bring Bishnoi to Maharashtrardquo he saidTwo rallies one political legacyThe rally drew supporters from across Maharashtra with party workers raising slogans in support of Uddhav Thackeray and Aaditya Thackeray For many the annual gathering remains a political traditionShiv Sena held its first Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park on October 30 1966 around four months after the party was founded The rally was initially scheduled for October 23 but was postponed by a weekThe party split in June 2022 after which Eknath Shinde began holding a separate Dussehra rally On Tuesday Shinde addressed his factionrsquos gathering at the NESCO Exhibition Centre in Goregaon while Thackeray addressed supporters at Shivaji ParkQuestions farmersrsquo loanwaiver reliefThackeray accused the government of making announcements without ensuring that farmers received relief for crop losses caused by rain ldquoThis is the worst government The ruling dispensation is busy making announcements Last year the chief minister announced a loan waiver for crop losses caused by rain but how many farmers actually received the reliefNow they are offering farmers Rs 5000 under the loan waiver scheme The government should not think it is doing farmers a favourrdquo he said The specific scheme the Rs 5000 payment and the status of last yearrsquos relief require verification against official government recordsVoices from the rallyMachavrao Kadam 75 who travelled from Jalna in MarathwadarsquoI have been coming to Shivaji Park for the past 35 years Earlier it was Balasaheb who would roar from this historic venue and now Uddhav Saheb is carrying forward his legacy This is the real Shiv Sena where people come of their own will We will stand by Uddhav Saheb until our last breath because he is fighting for the peoplersquoHarichandra Gopal Kedari 65 who travelled from Lonavala with five othersrsquoI have been attending the original Dussehra rally for nearly 35 years For us it has become a tradition to come here every year I have come with five others and our only intention is to listen to our leader who leads the original Shiv Senarsquo