Raj Thackeray Demands Ballot Paper Elections, Says He Asked Sonia Gandhi To Boycott Polls Over ‘Vote Theft’

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission and the Central Government during a joint ‘Garjna March’ with Shiv Sena (UBT) in Mumbai, raising allegations of irregularities in voter lists and demanding major changes to the electoral system.

Thackeray questioned the addition of lakhs of voters to Maharashtra’s electoral rolls within a short period and said the existing voter-list revision process should be cancelled.

Raj Thackeray Calls For Ballot Paper Voting

Thackeray said fundamental reforms were needed to restore trust in the electoral system.

He argued that since people had lost faith in electronic voting, elections should once again be conducted using ballot papers across the country.

He also questioned the entire process through which electoral rolls had been revised, calling for it to be cancelled.

‘I Asked Sonia Gandhi To Boycott Elections’

Thackeray claimed that he had raised the issue of alleged ‘vote theft’ as early as 2018-19.

He said he had met then Congress president Sonia Gandhi and urged her to bring opposition parties together and boycott elections over what he described as unnatural voting patterns.

According to Thackeray, he had told Gandhi that votes were being openly stolen and that opposition parties should collectively boycott elections.

‘How Did 40 Lakh Voters Become 60 Lakh In Six Months?’

While referring to Maharashtra’s Lok Sabha and Assembly election figures, Thackeray questioned the rise in the number of voters between the two elections.

He pointed out that only around six months separated the Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections and asked how the number of voters could increase from 40 lakh to 60 lakh during that period.

He also questioned why there was little public enthusiasm in Maharashtra despite the ruling side securing a majority in the Assembly elections.

Thackeray Attacks Government’s Economic Policies

The MNS chief also turned his criticism towards the Central Government’s economic policies.

He alleged that national assets, including forests, airports and ports, were being handed over to a single industrialist and questioned how such concentration of economic power was possible.

Thackeray said several industrialists had prospered even during previous Congress governments, but alleged that the present regime was providing immense benefits to one particular industrialist.

‘Government Has Become Insensitive’

Thackeray also criticised the government’s response to public protests.

He said that regardless of how many marches people organised, fronts they formed or concerns they raised, the government’s stance did not change.

The remarks came during the joint Mumbai march against the Election Commission, with Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders raising concerns over voter-list revisions and alleged ‘vote theft’.