Mumbai: A delegation of leaders from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Wednesday met Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer S. Chockalingam and raised concerns regarding the upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleged bogus voting and duplicate voter entries in the state.
Joint press conference
Addressing a joint press conference after the meeting, UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray, Congress leader Sachin Sawant and NCP SP Shashikant Shinde described the discussion with the election authorities as positive but stressed the need for complete transparency during the voter verification exercise.
Thackeray said the opposition delegation discussed more than 40 issues related to the revision process and implementation mechanism. He alleged that similar exercises had earlier been used politically in states such as West Bengal and Bihar and asserted that the opposition would closely monitor the process in Maharashtra.
SIR process explained
The Special Intensive Revision is conducted by the Election Commission to verify electoral rolls through house-to-house surveys, verification of old voter records and pre-filled forms.
The MVA delegation also raised concerns over alleged duplicate and bogus voters, claiming that nearly 17 lakh doubtful entries had earlier been highlighted before the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections. Thackeray claimed that many of the alleged dual voter entries belonged to Marathi-speaking citizens.
MVA's active role in revision proces
He said Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP) workers would actively assist voters during the revision process beginning next month and would also undertake door-to-door verification campaigns to ensure eligible voters are not excluded.
The delegation urged the Election Commission to introduce dedicated software systems to identify anomalies and duplicate entries in voter lists.
Protecting vulnerable voters
MVA leaders also demanded that no eligible voter, especially from rural, tribal, migrant and economically weaker sections, should be deprived of voting rights due to technical or procedural lapses during the revision exercise.
Several other concerns, including booth-level officer functioning, polling station planning, correction of errors in electoral rolls and equal opportunity for all political parties during the registration process, were also raised during the meeting.
Congress leader Sachin Sawant alleged that nearly 52,000 Booth Level Agents linked to the BJP had already been appointed and claimed that fear and confusion were being created around the revision exercise.
Meanwhile, Shashikant Shinde stressed that Booth Level Agents should function independently without any external pressure during the SIR process.
The MVA leaders said they would also approach the Election Commission of India regarding issues that fall beyond the jurisdiction of the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer and urged the poll body to maintain neutrality to preserve public confidence in the democratic process.
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