Maharashtra Opposition Unites Over Voter List Irregularities Ahead Of Civic Polls; Raj And Uddhav Thackeray Share Stage In Rare Show Of Solidarity
The opposition parties in Maharashtra looked united like never before over the issue of some alleged irregularities in the voter lists in Maharashtra. This became the biggest political issue in the state last week, as the Opposition put up a united front, with the unlikely participant Raj Thackeray also choosing to join the delegation, which went to meet the state election commissioners in Mumbai to say that all doubts over this issue must get fixed before the big municipal elections in Maharashtra's big cities like Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Pune can be held. Will this issue act like some glue for the opposition parties in Maharashtra, and will they get traction among the public on the subject? These are the big questions many are now asking.
We have not generally seen leaders like Raj Thackeray joining any political delegation when they go to authorities to demand certain things. But this time, that’s happened. Uddhav and Raj sat next to each other, as leaders from the Congress and Sharad Pawar's NCP joined them to meet the state Election Commissioners (EC) to point out various discrepancies in the voter lists across Maharashtra. A similar thing was done by the Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi a few weeks ago. MNS Chief Raj Thackeray, later at a rally of his party, went to the extent of saying that his party will not allow civic polls to take place in the state until the discrepancies are fixed. This is now sounding like a serious issue, as the Opposition has announced a large rally to be taken out in Mumbai on Saturday. But will this help them galvanise the masses in their favour?
There is no doubt that the discrepancies pointed out by the Opposition in voter lists, such as the deletion of names or that of hundreds of voters being registered at the same address, do exist. Prominent leaders, like former minister and NCP (SP) MLA Jayant Patil, have produced documentary evidence before the media. The State Election Commission should be coming out with the announcement of some serious inquiry into these matters, and seemingly that is what has been ordered.
To balance out the situation that exists on the ground in various constituencies, one must say, in the EC's favour, that with the limitations that the organisation has in terms of not having enough full-time staff, always using government staff from other departments on deputation during the election period, and other limitations of resources, the EC has many restrictions which can be seen and felt on the ground. Some mistakes are bound to happen in a state like Maharashtra, where over nine crore voters have been registered. But the problem seems to be that the EC is in some sort of a denial mode. Instead of assuring the complainants that an inquiry will be held into the discrepancies, as alleged by the opposition parties, the EC is generally seen claiming that not much is wrong with the lists and they are asking the complainants to complete the formalities.
Whether the masses support the Opposition's plan to take to the roads in Mumbai to protest against the problems related to voter lists will be clear on Saturday when the Congress, Sharad Pawar's NCP, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray's MNS will take out a rally in the state capital. The big question many are asking is: why have Raj and Uddhav not announced a formal alliance till now? And, whether they will get into some kind of seat-sharing in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, or MMR, to take on the ruling party alliance?
On the other side of the political divide, what was seen this week was the uncertainty continuing over how alliances will shape in various large cities of Maharashtra during the upcoming civic polls. In Pune, some members of Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena were seen attacking a BJP leader and Union minister, while a member of Ajit Pawar's NCP was seen targeting BJP Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni over another matter. The overall indications are that the alliances on both sides of the political divide are not sure about how they are going to enter the civic poll season, and there is uncertainty over many issues. The pressure from the activists of the ruling BJP on their state leadership is to go solo in cities like Thane and Pune, and no decision has been taken on that front, but some sources inside the BJP are confident that the saffron alliance will go for a seat-sharing formula in the BMC polls. In all, it seems like this is the season of changing dynamics and uncertainty among the alliances on both sides of the political divide!
Rohit Chandavarkar is a senior journalist who has worked for 31 years with various leading newspaper brands and television channels in Mumbai and Pune.
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