‘Govt machinery used’ for bogus voting in Thane, say Vichare, Awhad; CM denies

Vichare said that they were transported from outside to areas like Kopri, Pachapakkhadi and Wagle Estate within the Thane Lok Sabha constituency to cast fraudulent votes.

“I received information around 9 am that bogus voting might occur in Thane. Hence, I urged voters to cast their votes early in the morning to prevent fraudulent voting in their name,” Vichare stated.

Vichare also filed a complaint with the election officer and encouraged voters to utilise the tender voting facility if they suspected fraudulent voting in their name.

NCP MLA from Mumbra, Awhad, also alleged bogus voting at various polling stations in Thane, using “government machinery”. Claiming that fraudulent voting took place at the same school where he and his family cast their votes, Awhad said that around 2,000 people were brought from outside to do bogus voting. He also alleged deliberate slowing down of voting process in Mumbra to decrease the voting percentage.

“They’ve hijacked the government machinery and slowed down machines at booths where they anticipate defeat. If it takes five minutes to cast one vote, only 120 votes can be cast in a day. The list here is 1,400. If the Election Commission succumbs to government pressure and officials slow down machines, then elections should be canceled,” Awhad said after casting his vote in Thane.

Dismissing the allegations, CM Shinde said, “They (Sena UBT and Vichare) fear defeat and hence make baseless allegations. We’ve worked tirelessly in Thane, which is the stronghold of Balasaheb Thackeray and Dharmaveer Anand Dighe. I’ve dedicated many years to Thane, and people support us. Why would we resort to bogus voting in such circumstances?”