Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray, during a public gathering in Mumbai, unveiled what he termed a major “voter list scam,” alleging that large-scale irregularities have compromised the integrity of Mumbai’s electoral rolls ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. The revelation was made at the party’s Nirdhar Melava event held at Worli Dome, where Thackeray presented a detailed analysis showing over 22,000 anomalies discovered in the voter lists of the Worli constituency alone. His presentation, visually structured in a style similar to Rahul Gandhi’s exposés on Delhi’s voter rolls, aimed to expose what he described as systematic manipulation of the city’s electoral database.
In his address, Aditya Thackeray asserted that the scrutiny undertaken by his team uncovered widespread inconsistencies in the voter data that could seriously distort the outcome of the upcoming civic polls. He demanded that the Election Commission of India (ECI) intervene immediately, conduct a thorough audit, and rectify the identified errors to uphold transparency and public trust. Uddhav Thackeray, the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief, was also present at the event and urged party workers to strengthen vigilance across all wards of Mumbai, calling the issue a direct threat to democratic principles.
The analysis presented by Aditya Thackeray focused on multiple categories of discrepancies. He claimed that the examination of the Worli constituency alone revealed approximately 22,000 cases of irregular entries. The findings included deceased individuals reappearing on updated lists, voters without valid Elector’s Photo Identity Cards (EPICs), and instances of duplicated or mismatched identity details. Thackeray stated that his team discovered 28 voters lacking EPIC numbers, 133 individuals using identical EPICs under different names, and 3,856 people issued two EPIC numbers each, resulting in 7,810 cards being linked to duplicate identities.
Further, the audit uncovered 502 cases where individuals shared identical names with close relatives, 720 records where surnames of fathers and sons did not match, and 643 entries where gender details were inaccurately recorded. Another disturbing observation was that 113 voters listed were over 100 years old, while many others had missing or distorted photographs in the official records. Field verification also revealed instances of false or fictitious addresses—such as 38 voters registered in a small room meant for only five residents and 46 voters listed at the location of a demolished Ghasitaram sweet shop, which no longer existed.
Labeling the findings as evidence of deliberate malpractice, Aditya Thackeray said, “This is not a clerical mistake; it’s an orchestrated scam.” He claimed that the patterns of errors and the scale of duplication pointed to a coordinated effort to manipulate voter rolls rather than random administrative lapses. He appealed to the Election Commission to ensure fairness in the electoral process by immediately verifying and correcting the discrepancies.
Uddhav Thackeray, addressing the audience after Aditya, echoed his son’s concerns and alleged that such voter list distortions were part of a larger plan to influence the outcome of future elections in Mumbai. He called upon all Shiv Sena (UBT) workers to conduct similar inspections in their respective wards and to remain on guard during the ongoing revision of electoral rolls. The event concluded with a strong call for electoral vigilance, transparency, and accountability, as the party vowed to prevent any manipulation that could undermine the democratic mandate of Mumbai’s citizens.
