Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray attacked the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday, October 19, 2025, alleging that nearly 96 lakh fake voters had been added to Maharashtra’s electoral rolls ahead of the upcoming local body elections.
Speaking at a gathering of booth-level party workers at NESCO, Goregaon, Mr. Thackeray demanded a complete overhaul of the voters’ list before any elections are conducted, calling the alleged manipulation a “mockery of democracy.”
According to him, Mumbai alone has 8–10 lakh fake voters, with similar discrepancies reported in Thane, Pune, and Nashik. He warned that such large-scale irregularities amounted to an insult to genuine voters across the State. “They have done this in every village and city. If elections are held like this, it is an insult to voters in Maharashtra and the country,” the MNS chief said.
Mr. Thackeray accused the ruling party of attempting to “fix” the elections by inserting bogus names into the rolls. “It doesn’t matter whether you vote or not. The match is already fixed,” he remarked, questioning the fairness of the democratic process.
Responding to criticism over MNS’s electoral performance, he argued that manipulated voter data left no room for fair representation. “How will my party have MLAs and MPs if the voting arithmetic itself is compromised?” he asked.
During his speech, Thackeray played a video clip of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks from his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister, where Mr. Modi had criticised the ECI, a move the MNS leader said exposed the hypocrisy of the BJP now that it is in power.
He further claimed that several ruling party MLAs privately admitted to voter list tampering and denounced the ECI’s decision to freeze voter list updates after July 25, saying it had disenfranchised thousands of new voters.
Calling for a return to ballot paper voting, the MNS chief argued that it would restore transparency and public trust in elections.
Shifting his focus beyond electoral concerns, Raj Thackeray warned of major infrastructure changes impacting Mumbai, alleging that the city’s airport operations would soon move to Navi Mumbai and cargo activities to the proposed Vadhavan Port in Palghar. He accused authorities of handing over surrounding land to the Adani Group, cautioning against projects that undermine Marathi interests.
“I will not tolerate development built over the tomb of Marathi people,” he declared.
Thackeray also invoked Marathi identity and pride, claiming that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had opposed the merger of Mumbai with Maharashtra. Turning to the issue of language, he questioned the growing emphasis on Hindi in the State.
“Why should we learn Hindi when Hindi-speaking States are economically backward, and non-Hindi States are progressive? Marathi language and culture are non-negotiable,” he said, warning against any compromise on linguistic pride.
The MNS leader urged all parties to conduct door-to-door verification of voter lists and announced a joint Opposition rally on November 1 in Mumbai, alongside Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, to demand the removal of fake voters.
