Uddhav Thackeray Raises Voter Roll Concerns, Urges Shiv Sena Workers To Stay Vigilant

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday accused the BJP of using what he described as “extremely low-level tactics” to win elections and raised concerns over alleged irregularities in voter registration. Addressing party workers and Booth Level Agents (BLAs) in Beed, Thackeray urged them to closely scrutinise electoral rolls, verify voters at the grassroots level and strengthen the party’s organisational network across Maharashtra.

Thackeray referred to an incident in the Panvel, Navi Mumbai and Kharghar areas, where he alleged that Shiv Sena workers discovered Special Intensive Revision (SIR) voter forms being photocopied at a local Xerox shop. According to his account, a party worker initially visiting the shop was told that staff were too busy to assist him, but later found multiple photocopying machines operating. Thackeray alleged that the forms being duplicated could be used in attempts to manipulate electoral records.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief further alleged that a confrontation followed at the location and that police initially hesitated to register a First Information Report. He credited local party workers, led by Prasad Bhoir, with pressing authorities to lodge a complaint later that night. Thackeray also referred to alleged instances elsewhere where hotel rooms were rented in the names of senior political leaders for processing voter forms before those involved left the locations. He urged party workers to remain vigilant and monitor electoral rolls ahead of upcoming elections.

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Thackeray also raised concerns over discrepancies in voter registration figures, referring to observations attributed to political commentator Parakala Prabhakar. He alleged that there had been an unusual increase in voter numbers between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections and claimed that millions of bogus registrations and duplicate voters had been observed in Maharashtra. He further alleged that recent SIR exercises had resulted in large-scale deletions or alterations of voter names, while calling for greater scrutiny of electoral data.

Speaking about the party’s organisation in Beed, Thackeray praised local leaders and workers for strengthening booth-level management and appointing BLAs across constituencies. He highlighted Ambadas Danve and other leaders for reviving organisational initiatives aimed at supporting party workers and their families. Thackeray also reflected on the earlier alliance between the undivided Shiv Sena and BJP, recalling his late father Bal Thackeray’s relationship with veteran BJP leader Gopinath Munde and noting that the political partnership of that period was different from the present-day equation.

Thackeray urged BLAs to personally verify voters listed in their respective areas by checking names and identities to help prevent electoral irregularities. He reaffirmed his party’s ideological position while criticising rival Shiv Sena factions and outlined his upcoming political programmes, including participation in Marathwada protests in Sambhajinagar on September 17 and the annual Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park. He also pledged that a Sena-led government would focus on public welfare and cited measures such as farm loan waivers as examples of the party’s past governance priorities.

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