Mumbai, Oct 15 (NationPress) The Shiv Sena(UBT) has claimed that the online voter registration process is a fraudulent scheme, asserting that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has turned into a lifeless entity under the influence of the BJP.

In a strongly worded piece in their publication 'Saamana', the Thackeray faction pointed out that the voter list is being tainted with the names of deceased individuals while excluding the living.

They alleged, "A software developed in Gujarat is currently being utilized in Maharashtra to manipulate this process. Names of individuals who have migrated are still listed as voters, and each household is seeing registrations of 50-100 names. This is a clear attempt to introduce bogus voters into the electoral list. The BJP and Shinde camp previously exploited the election machinery during the Assembly elections and seem poised to repeat this strategy in the upcoming Zilla Parishad and Municipal Corporation elections.

This editorial follows a meeting of opposition parties with the state Chief Electoral Officer and the State Election Commissioner, where they demanded free, fair, and transparent elections for local and civic bodies in Maharashtra.

The editorial stated, "The Election Commission of India and the State Election Commission are merely two sides of the same coin. The bureaucrats involved in the electoral framework, who are meant to safeguard democracy, seem to be failing their duty. Our Election Commission has become the most prominent institution devoid of direction, merely observing the collapse of democracy with closed eyes."

It questioned the confidence expressed by BJP minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule regarding the grand alliance (Mahayuti) securing 51 percent of the votes in local body elections, despite the election dates and alliance details still being unknown. The editorial demanded that the Election Commission investigate this unwarranted assurance.

Additionally, the editorial criticized the Shinde camp legislator Vilas Bhumre's claim of having imported 20,000 voters from outside to participate in the elections.

"If these legislators won due to the influence of these mercenary voters, the Election Commission needs to probe whether these 20,000 voters were legitimately part of the voter list, or whether they manipulated the voting machines to cast their votes. Yet, the Election Commission appears indifferent. The former Chief Election Commissioner Seshan commanded respect and authority, whereas the current officials seem ineffective, ignoring evident electoral malpractices," the editorial alleged.

The Thackeray camp further asserted that 4.5 million votes were added in Maharashtra during the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, all allegedly favoring the BJP. "This anomaly demands investigation," they stated.

“Currently, the local body elections are plagued with numerous duplicate voters, appearing under slightly altered names but with identical photos. Since 2018, the Election Commission has been tasked with identifying and removing such duplicates, yet no progress has been made in Maharashtra. The elections for 29 municipal corporations are being conducted through a 'panel' method, with Mumbai being an exception where a direct contest will take place. There are ongoing efforts to corruptly influence the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation elections. Why did Maharashtra election officials dismiss the demand for 'VVPAT' in Mumbai elections?" they queried, insisting that the BMC elections should use ballot papers.

The Saamana editorial also targeted the central government, questioning why it hasn't provided VVPATs for the BMC elections, despite its claims of spending ₹20,000 crores on EVMs and VVPAT systems. This expenditure also covers maintenance costs. The party contended that the central government's refusal to offer this facility in Mumbai reveals a clear agenda to manipulate the electoral process through fraudulent means.

According to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, the Election Commission has failed to act despite evidence showing that 353,949 voters were duplicates, fake, or migrated across three constituencies in Nashik city and four in the rural area of Deolali. "The Election Commission should ensure transparency in the voter list and election process, but currently, political party activists are undertaking this work. This is a movement aimed at eliminating corruption from the voter list so that citizens can exercise their constitutional right to vote, ensuring fair and transparent elections. However, if the Election Commission continues to disregard such warnings, a far more significant conflict may arise in the future,” concluded the Thackeray camp in their editorial.