Oppn leaders meet Maharashtra CEO over poll 'irregularities', seek voter list rectification

Mumbai, Oct 14 (PTI) A delegation of Opposition leaders, including NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS' Raj Thackeray, on Tuesday met Maharashtra's chief electoral officer (CEO) to flag alleged irregularities in the poll process, including the voters' list.

Cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray were seen arriving together, amid a buzz that they may join hands for the upcoming local body polls in the state, though it remains unclear if the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) head will be part of the larger Opposition alliance.

Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena head Eknath Shinde quipped the Opposition bloc is not Maha Vikas Aghadi but a "Maha Confused Aghadi".

The Opposition delegation, which also comprised leaders from the Congress, Left parties, Peasants and Workers Party and Samajwadi Party, met CEO S Chockalingam at the Mantralaya (state secretariat) and demanded rectification of anomalies in the voters' list before the local body polls.

They also demanded the use of VVPATs (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) in the local body polls in Maharashtra, likely to be held later this year or early next year.

Another delegation, comprising Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad and Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Ambadas Danve and (Lok Sabha MP) Arvind Sawant, met State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare with similar demands.

"We met S Chokhalingam to show him the irregularities in the voters' list in different parts of the state. It is now evident that there are a lot of irregularities and it can be seen in various constituencies," NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil, who was part of the delegation, told reporters.

If this voters' list is frozen and the State Election Commission holds polls, then the same "mess" will continue tomorrow in the local body elections, he claimed.

"We have demanded that the SEC and the state CEO hold a meeting with us together and listen to our concerns. They have assured us that both will come together and hear our grievance," he added.

Patil claimed there is duplication of several names in the voters' list. In another case, one house has 170 voters, he said, pointing out the irregularities.

Before holding the local body polls, the anomalies in the voters' list should be rectified, Patil said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said the Opposition leaders were supposed to hold a joint press conference after the meeting.

But it would be held after the discussions, which remained incomplete. The discussions will continue on Wednesday as the Election Commission "needs some more time", he said.

The Rajya Sabha member said the ruling BJP, too, should have been part of the meeting because it is the need of the hour that the poll body holds elections in a free and fair manner.

"The BJP is making similar demands in West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Even the BJP should have been here," Raut said.

The elections should be held transparently and according to the Constitution, he said.

Taking a dig at the Opposition, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde said it is not Maha Vikas Aghadi but a "Maha Confused Aghadi".

In a jibe at rival Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Shinde said the one who frequently visited Mantralaya only "virtually" when he was the chief minister, went to the same building again not for work, but for ranting. PTI PR ARU GK