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New Delhi: The announcement of Maharashtra's municipal and nagar panchayat election dates has once again set the stage for a political tug of war -- with the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and the ruling Mahayuti alliance trading barbs over alleged flaws in the voters' list.
The MVA, comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar) and Congress, has once again demanded a thorough rectification of electoral rolls before the polls, alleging large-scale duplication of names. The Mahayuti -- a coalition of the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-led NCP -- has dismissed the Opposition's claims as an "excuse" to delay elections it fears losing.
Elections to 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats across Maharashtra will be held on December 2, and votes will be counted the next day, December 3, State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare announced on Tuesday.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve said the Opposition bloc was ready for polls but accused the Election Commission of ignoring duplication issues. "Instead of merely putting a double asterisk against suspected duplicate names, such entries should be deleted," he said.
Congress leader Nana Patole said public anger against the Mahayuti government would be reflected in the ballot box, while NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh accused the poll body of working "under pressure" from the ruling coalition. "All Opposition parties have demanded rectification of electoral rolls, but no corrective steps have been taken," he alleged.
On November 1, the MVA, along with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), had held a protest march -- 'Satyacha Morcha' (March for Truth) -- against what they called widespread irregularities, including multiple entries, wrongful deletions, and arbitrary additions in the voters' list.
Rejecting the Opposition's allegations, BJP leader Subhash Deshmukh said voter list updates are a "continuous administrative process" that takes into account deaths and migrations. "Duplicate names in rolls are not new. Election officials regularly verify and update lists. Political parties are not at fault," he said.
He also claimed that the Opposition was "looking for an excuse" to postpone the elections due to its "definite defeat".
Minister and Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant welcomed the announcement of the poll schedule, expressing confidence that the ruling alliance would "sweep" the upcoming elections.
State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said his office was addressing concerns regarding duplicate entries with "utmost seriousness". A special tool has been developed to flag suspected duplicate voters with a double asterisk on the list.
"Wherever such double stars appear, officials will personally verify the voter's correct polling location. If they fail to respond, their names will be flagged at all voting centres, and affidavits will be taken to ensure that each person votes only once," he said.
The Election Commission has confirmed 1,07,03,576 registered voters for these elections -- including 53.79 lakh male, 53.22 lakh female, and 775 transgender voters -- reflecting a nearly balanced gender ratio.
Nomination filing will take place from November 10 to 17, scrutiny on November 18, and withdrawals until November 21 (or November 25 in case of appeals). The final list of candidates will be published on November 26.
