Mumbai, Nov 3 (IANS) Shiv Sena(UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday strongly denied the BJP’s allegation of ‘vote jihad’, saying that his party, along with other constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, have been demanding the cleaning of the voters’ list and then holding the upcoming elections for local and civic bodies in Maharashtra.

He alleged that the Election Commission of India and the Centre fear Gen Z, claiming that youth who turn 18 won’t be able to cast their votes because the poll panel has set a cut-off date of July 1 for voter registration for the upcoming local and civic body elections.

The youth, who turn 18 after July 1, should be allowed to cast their votes in the coming civic body elections, he demanded.

“The Election Commission should rectify errors, including duplicate and bogus voters in the electoral rolls. The Shiv Sena(UBT) or others have not referred to any bogus voter by his or her religion. The opposition is not against the elections, but it wants the polls to be conducted only after cleaning the electoral rolls,” he said at the press conference, which was held two days after the opposition took out ‘Satyacha March (truth morcha)’ in Mumbai on this issue.

“The Election Commission has set a cut-off date of June 1 for voters. This means that children who turn 18 after July 1 will not be able to vote in the upcoming local body elections. These children will not be able to exercise their right to vote. While children of their age are taking to the streets all over the world and creating a revolution, why is the government at the state and Centre afraid of the children of the Gen Z generation?” he asked.

Thackeray appealed to all voters to go to the nearest Shiv Sena(UBT) shakha and check their names in the voters’ list. “Has anyone omitted your name? Has your address changed? Has your age, gender or religion changed? Leave aside the ruling party, but all the other political parties are united against voter fraud. We are opening centres for voters’ convenience. I request that the citizens check whether they will be able to vote in these polling stations. So, we will know how many lakhs of boys and girls we are depriving from voting,” he said.

Thackeray congratulated BJP Minister Ashish Shelar for showing guts and courage to unknowingly consider Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as Pappu. “CM Fadnavis did not accept the vote theft issue. Because of that, Ashish Shelar has rejected Devendra Fadnavis’ stance and shown courage to consider CM Fadnavis as Maharashtra’s Pappu. This may be due to the internal dispute between them. Ashish Shelar, who held a press conference only after Devendra Fadnavis returned from campaigning in Bihar, has proven that there is confusion in the voters’ list,” claimed Thackeray.

“We suspect that the Election Commission is not handling the Saksham app and the Election Commission Server. Someone must have registered in the app in my name and then received an OTP, from which my name and that of my family would have been excluded. We tell voters to come to the party shakhas and check whether their names are in the voters’ list. The Election Commission is a ghost. So, if there are any other voters at your address, please point them out. We are exposing the corrupt practices of the Election Commission,” he said.

He reiterated that the Shiv Sena(UBT) and other opposition parties are approaching the court demanding rectification of errors in duplicate and bogus voters, and then conduct the local and civic body elections in the state.

–IANS

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