Mumbai, Dec 4 (NationPress) Maharashtra's State Election Commissioner (SEC) Dinesh Waghmare on Thursday urged 29 Municipal Commissioners to carry out a meticulous investigation for potential duplicate voters in the electoral rolls ahead of the upcoming civic body elections.

He highlighted the necessity for maintaining high vigilance throughout the polling process. This statement was made during an online meeting with Municipal Commissioners concerning the electoral rolls, particularly in light of protests from opposition parties over duplicate entries and other inconsistencies.

Accompanied by Commission Secretary Suresh Kakani, SEC Waghmare instructed that, in addition to searching for duplicates, all objections and suggestions regarding the draft voter lists should be verified and addressed promptly.

"If any inaccuracies are detected in the preparation of ward-wise voter lists, the corporation should take corrective action proactively, without waiting for formal complaints," stated the SEC.

SEC Waghmare noted that the deadline for submitting objections and suggestions on the draft voter lists was December 3, 2025, with the final electoral rolls set to be published on December 10, 2025.

He requested the relevant Municipal Corporations to display the list of potential duplicate voters on their notice boards and official websites. Duplicate names will be marked with two stars in the voter list, and actions should align with the SEC's directive from October 29, 2025, as mentioned in the release.

Furthermore, he directed the municipal corporations to issue an appeal to these flagged voters, asking them to declare their intended polling station.

“Upon receiving a response, the voter must complete a specified application form indicating their chosen polling location. They will then be restricted to voting only at that designated centre. If a potential duplicate voter arrives at a polling centre without submitting the application, they may only vote after providing a prescribed undertaking confirming they have not voted elsewhere, and this will only be permitted after strict identity verification,” the release stated.

Secretary Suresh Kakani clarified that, as per local body laws, the Assembly Constituency voter list prepared by the Election Commission of India (ECI) is used as is for all local body elections, merely divided on a ward-wise basis for Municipal Corporation elections. He explained that the Assembly Constituency lists in existence on the notified date of July 1, 2025, will be utilized for these polls, keeping voters' names and addresses unchanged during the ward-wise division.

This action by the SEC follows escalated criticisms from parties like Shiv Sena UBT, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Congress, and NCP SP over the presence of duplicate voters in the electoral rolls.

Aaditya Thackeray, leader of Shiv Sena UBT, recently criticized the Election Commission (EC), questioning their competence after significant irregularities were uncovered in Mumbai's draft voter list released on November 20.

During a media interaction, Thackeray pointed out many discrepancies in the voter rolls across Mumbai's 227 wards, mentioning his party filed between 3,000 and 4,000 objections.

Thackeray highlighted that the name of party legislator Sunil Govind Shinde appeared seven times in the voter list with varying ages and photographs. Similarly, former mayor Shraddha Jadhav's name was found eight times, along with duplicate entries for Congress legislator Jyoti Gaikwad and party MP Anil Desai.

“The Election Commission has identified 14 lakh duplicate voters to be removed. Our legislators’ names appear multiple times with different ages and photos. Is the Election Commission making a mockery of this? Are they running a circus?” he questioned.

He alleged that 5.86 lakh individuals are registered as duplicate voters, with numerous Marathi names appearing multiple times. He raised concerns that some duplicate entries lack the star symbol for identification and questioned whether proxy voting is happening in the names of deceased voters.

“In numerous instances, names indicated by the EC as duplicates are actually common Marathi names belonging to different individuals. Conversely, approximately 50,000 names are repeated but not marked as such by the EC. Voters who have passed away remain on the lists during Vidhan Sabha polls, and some have even cast votes. We have compiled lists for every booth with proof. What will the EC do with this information? Will they allow proxy voting? This is most alarming,” stated Aaditya Thackeray.