Shiv Sena UBT calls for collective fight against ‘electoral manipulation’

The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing them of using electoral rolls as a "political weapon to manipulate" upcoming elections.

​In an editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Thackeray camp alleged systematic electoral manipulation following reports that over two crore voter names are being excluded across Maharashtra under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive. ​Characterising the voter revision exercise as a "corruption scheme", the editorial claimed that deleting legitimate voters while shielding duplicate entries forms part of a strategy to influence election outcomes. ​

The editorial highlighted specific concerns regarding younger demographics, alleging that Gen Z voters -- who recently led anti-government demonstrations across major urban centres like Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, and Sambhajinagar -- are being deliberately targeted for disenfranchisement.

​"In Maharashtra, declaring 2.07 crore voters ineligible in its final stage is quite dangerous for democracy," the editorial stated, criticising the complexity of the voter review process. "In a state where basic administration struggles with fundamental public needs, how can crushed voters hold their ground in this complex verification battle?" it asked. ​

Drawing comparisons to other states, the editorial alleged similar patterns of electoral engineering in West Bengal and Bihar during past Assembly polls. It said that in West Bengal, right in the middle of the Assembly elections, 80 lakh voters were excluded, and relying on that strength, the BJP came to power. The same game was played in Bihar. ​

The editorial also revisited the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections, raising questions over the sudden addition of 42 lakh voters to the rolls without clear clarification from the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra regarding their origins -- a concern previously voiced by former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. ​

Addressing recent comments attributed to former US President Donald Trump praising India's electoral mechanism, the editorial dismissed the praise, sarcastically suggesting that the "US import India's election management team to conduct American polls". ​

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena urged all opposition parties to remain on high alert and unite to expose administrative discrepancies in voter lists ahead of the upcoming elections, calling for collective action to protect democratic processes.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by Education Post)