Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: Leaders of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi on Saturday accused the BJP of deleting names of at least 10,000 genuine voters from each constituency in Maharashtra in the run-up to the November 20 assembly polls.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut alleged Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule was part of the conspiracy to delete the names of bonafide voters and get bogus names, including those from other states, added to the electoral roll.
"The conspiracy to delete at least 10,000 names from each constituency has been exposed. We will create awareness among people and, if needed, will lead a protest march to the election office with those whose names have been deleted," Raut said.
Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole, who was also present during this media interaction, said the MVA has met the state's chief electoral officer.
The opposition will also send a detailed mail on the matter to the Election Commission of India, Patole added.
"Out of fear of losing the assembly polls, names of original voters are being deleted. Names of bogus voters from other states are being included. Some officials are hand in glove with the BJP in this. People of Maharashtra will not tolerate it if the ECI does not conduct assembly polls in a transparent manner," Patole said.
He alleged the voters whose names have been deleted belong to particular castes and religion.
Speaking on the issue, NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad said the MVA has found that names of original voters, who cast their franchise in 2024 Lok Sabha polls, have been deleted in Shirdi, Chandrapur, Arvi, Kamptee, Kothrud, Gondia, Akola East, Chikhli, Nagpur, Kankavli, Khamgaon, Chimur and Dhamangaon Railway assembly seats.
Meanwhile, Patole also asked why the ECI cannot remove Maharashtra Director General of Police (Rashmi Shukla) for the sake of fair and free polls when it has taken such a step in poll-bound Jharkhand.
The ECI on Saturday directed the Jharkhand government to remove the state's Acting Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Gupta from his post with immediate effect due to a "history" of complaints against him in previous elections.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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