About 96 lakh ‘fake’ voters in Maha: Raj Thackeray; demands clean-up before local polls

Mumbai: MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday alleged that 96 lakh fake voters have been added to Maharashtra’s electoral rolls and challenged the Election Commission, asking how it will hold the local body polls without cleaning up the voters’ list.

Addressing booth-level agents of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Thackeray said if polls are held by rigging the voters’ list, then it is the biggest insult to electors. He urged his party workers to verify the voters’ list to find out fake voters.

Various Opposition parties, including the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, NCP (SP) and MNS, recently met the State Election Commissioner and Chief Electoral Officer, while claiming that there are duplicate names in the electoral rolls across different addresses and Assembly segments.

The Opposition has called for “rectification” in the electoral rolls and removal of “anomalies” ahead of the rural and urban body elections, which are to be completed by January 31, 2026.

The Maharashtra State Election Commission on Saturday said that no political party can tamper with the electoral rolls and that corrections and updates on the voter lists are being managed securely.

Raj Thackeray on Sunday alleged, “An attempt is being made to finish regional parties. I have learnt that 96 lakh fake voters have been enrolled in the voters’ list in Maharashtra for the upcoming polls. They had also done this during the state polls as well.”

He claimed that 8 to 10 lakh fake voters have been added in Mumbai and 8 to 8.5 lakh in Thane, Pune and Nashik.

“They have done it in every village and city. Will polls take place like this in the country? If polls are held like this, then it is an insult to voters in Maharashtra and the country,” he said.