Need clarity on poll process, says Shiv Sena (UBT) leader
New Delhi, Feb 13: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal, days after their losses in the Delhi assembly polls, with a message to strengthen the fight for free and fair elections.
Aditya Thackeray on a whirlwind tour of the national capital also met the party’s parliamentarians amid reports of dissent in the ranks and some leaders planning to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
He met Gandhi late on Wednesday and called on Kejriwal, the former Delhi chief minister, whose party faced defeat in last week’s assembly elections on Thursday.
“Is there any difference between the BJP and the Election Commission (EC)?… I don’t even know where my vote goes. There needs to be more clarity on EVMs (electronic voting machines) and VVPATs (voter-verifiable paper audit trail),” Aditya Thackeray said.
After calling on Kejriwal, Aditya Thackeray described the meeting as a gesture of friendship.
“It is clear in the heart of the Shiv Sena (UBT) Party that governments come and go, but our relationship will continue as it is. That is what we came here to convey, a gesture of friendship. The work that Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP have done for Delhi over the past 10 years is well known to the people of Delhi,” Thackeray said after the meeting.
He was accompanied by party MPs Sanjay Raut, Arvind Sawant, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Sanjay Dina Patil and Bhausaheb Wakchaure among others.
Thackeray raised concern over “electoral irregularities” blaming the BJP and the Election Commission of India (ECI).
“In this election, the Election Commission played a significant role. The BJP had the blessings of the Election Commission, and the BJP should be grateful for that,” he said.
Meanwhile, senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said, “It is commendable that, regardless of the election results, the foundation of our relationship remains strong. With this unity, we will move forward and work for the nation. Based on the public mandate and the irregularities in the elections, we are formulating our future strategy.” Thackeray also accused the Election Commission (EC) of large-scale manipulation in voters’ lists in multiple states, including Maharashtra, Haryana, Odisha and Delhi.
“We are raising the issue of how Maharashtra’s voter count suddenly increased by 47 lakhs. Who cast the 76 lakh votes after the final deadline? The Election Commission is completely unwilling to discuss this. This pattern has been in elections across Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Delhi, and Maharashtra. This is proof that free and fair elections no longer exist in our country,” he said.
Former Maharashtra deputy chief minister further claimed that the EC has snatched people’s right to vote and emphasised that free and fair elections were “necessary for the country.” The Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (SP) had alleged irregularities in the conduct of last year’s Maharashtra Assembly elections, claiming that there were more registered voters in the state than its total adult population.
The three parties, which formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) grouping, claimed 39 lakh new voters were added between the Lok Sabha elections in May and the November assembly polls. “We believe we are in a democracy but perhaps we are robbed of democracy. It is a pretentious democracy,” Aditya Thackeray said, adding that the opposition parties should rally together on the issues of “voter and EVM fraud”. (PTI)