Revelations by Maharashtra Minister Ashish Shelar echo Opposition's claim on fraudulent voters: Shiv Sena (UBT)

The Shiv Sena UBT on Monday claimed the BJP had scored a ldquoselfgoalrdquo by acknowledging the presence of fraudulent voters following Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Ashish Shelarrsquos assertion that names of the same electors had appeared multiple times across constituencies reported the PTIShiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray dismissed the ruling BJPrsquos accusation of ldquoappeasement politicsrdquo regarding alleged irregularities in the electoral roll insisting that neither the Shiv Sena UBT nor other opposition parties had identified any bogus voter by religionHe reiterated that local body elections in Maharashtra should only take place once the voter lists have been thoroughly cleaned upThe exchange of accusations began after senior BJP leader Ashish Shelar accused Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray of indulging in appeasement politics and attempting to pressure government officials ahead of the local pollsShelar alleged that the Opposition was trying to create a ldquofalse narrativerdquoResponding to Raj Thackerayrsquos earlier comments that certain voters from Kalyan Rural Murbad and Bhiwandi had also voted in Mumbairsquos Malabar Hill Ashish Shelar described such actions as ldquothe height of appeasementrdquo He questioned why only Marathi voters were being targeted for duplication as per the PTICiting examples from the KarjatndashJamkhed constituency represented by NCP SP MLA Rohit Pawar Shelar claimed that individuals like Imran Kadar Bagwan and Tabassum Abdul Mulani had duplicate entries ldquoWhy did Raj Thackeray not see these cases but only those of Patil and Bhoir Why this selective outragerdquo he askedShelar urged the Thackeray cousins to support the Election Commissionrsquos Special Intensive Revision drive instead of targeting particular communities ldquoMultiple entries of Muslims and other minorities are ignored but they only talk about Hindus Dalits and Marathis The Thackeray brothers must introspectrdquo he added alleging that the Opposition was attempting to influence government staff and sway the upcoming elections the news agency reportedAt a separate press conference Uddhav Thackeray accused the Election Commission EC and the Union government of being ldquoafraid of Gen Zrdquo arguing that those turning 18 after July 1 would be denied the right to vote under the ECrsquos current eligibility cutoff according to the PTIldquoThe Election Commission must rectify duplicate and bogus entries in the electoral roll We have not mentioned religion at all We are not opposing elections but they must only be held after the rolls are correctedrdquo Uddhav Thackeray saidTaking a dig at Shelar Uddhav Thackeray remarked that the minister had ldquounknowingly shown couragerdquo by calling Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis lsquoMaharashtrarsquos Pappursquo for failing to recognise irregularities He also hinted at internal rifts within the BJP saying Shelar had ldquokilled many birds with one stonerdquoldquoIf the BJP agrees that there are issues with the electoral roll they should join us in petitioning the Election Commission We will move the court to seek correctionsrdquo he declaredAaditya Thackeray said the BJP had effectively admitted the existence of fraudulent voters by acknowledging ldquodouble votingrdquo calling it a ldquoselfgoalrdquo In an X post he wrote that the BJP was ldquoresorting to HindundashMuslim politicsrdquo as it had ldquono achievements to show in 11 years of rulerdquo adding that the controversy revealed factional infighting within the BJPHe noted that the BJP had echoed the Shiv Sena UBTrsquos earlier revelations about irregularities in the voter data and demanded that the Election Commission ldquocome cleanrdquoUddhav Thackeray also expressed concerns over the Election Commissionrsquos Saksham app and server suggesting that glitches could result in genuine voters being wrongfully deleted ldquoWe are exposing the corrupt practices of the Election Commission If you find voters registered at your address who donrsquot live there report them The Opposition will approach the courts to ensure the voter lists are corrected before pollsrdquo he saidThe Supreme Court has instructed the Maharashtra State Election Commission to hold the local body elections by January 31 2026 Over the weekend the Maha Vikas Aghadi and MNS staged a protest march against alleged voter list irregularities accusing the Election Commission of favouring the BJP through multiple entries wrongful deletions and suspicious additionswith PTI inputs