‘Votes are being stolen’: Ahead of poll season, Thackeray cousins urge cadres to scan electoral rolls

While Uddhav Thackeray says the BJP can’t win if polls are held honestly, Raj Thackeray alleges both victory celebrations and acceptance of defeat have been muted of late because ‘everyone knows there has been a mismatch in numbers’.

By: Express News Service

Updated: August 24, 2025 04:56 PM IST

Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray

As Maharashtra heads to a crucial round of civic elections, the alleged manipulation of voter lists has emerged as a rallying point for both Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray, who in separate addresses urged workers of their parties to scrutinise electoral rolls, warning that “votes are being stolen”.

Addressing Shiv Sena (UBT) workers at Dahisar on Saturday, party chief Uddhav Thackeray urged cadres to take the task of monitoring voter lists seriously. “Go door to door, check the rolls carefully. Votes are being stolen. It is your responsibility to ensure that this does not happen,” he said. He alleged that the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance “cannot win if elections are held honestly”.

A day earlier in Pune, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray delivered a similar message to his party’s office-bearers, claiming that voter list irregularities had skewed results for years. “Since 2016-17, I have been saying there is something wrong in the voting process. Do not think people are not voting for you—the truth is, votes are being stolen. That is why defeats keep repeating,” he said.

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He alleged that both victory celebrations and the acceptance of defeat had been muted in recent polls because “everyone knows there has been a mismatch in numbers”.

Raj further accused the Election Commission of failing to investigate irregularities. “If this manipulation is to be exposed, you must work on the voter lists. Without that, there is no chance of victory,” he told MNS workers.

With Congress leader Rahul Gandhi raising questions at the national level about the credibility of recent elections, the Thackeray cousins’ warnings indicate that “vote theft” may dominate campaign narratives in Maharashtra’s election season.

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