Mumbai civic polls: Uddhav calls for regime change Raj Thackeray accuses SEC of bias

 

 

 

SHIV Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday urged voters to come out in large numbers for the Mumbai civic polls to dislodge the “brutal, fraud, corrupt and dictatorial regime of the BJP”. Uddhav cast his vote along with his wife Rashmi and son Aaditya in the city’s Bandra East area. “I urge voters to exercise their right and dislodge the brutal, fraud, corrupt and dictatorial BJP,” Uddhav said. His cousin and MNS president Raj Thackeray, who also cast his vote, accused the State Election Commission (SEC) of bias, claiming the entire administration was being misused by the ruling parties to secure victory in the polls.

 

Raj Thackeray cast his vote in the Dadar area, accompanied by his family members, including his mother Kunda. Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, his wife Anjali, daughter Sara and former Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar voted in their respective wards. Later, speaking to reporters, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief he targeted the SEC over the use of the Printing Auxiliary Display Unit (PADU) in the civic polls. The SEC did not even bother to give any clarification on the use of PADU and extended the canvassing time to allow “distribution of money (by ruling parties)”, he alleged. He further claimed that the indelible ink mark on the finger after casting vote can be easily wiped off. “They (the Government) don’t want the Opposition parties.

 

The entire administration is being run by the Government (to win the polls). This is not the sign of a healthy democracy. There is a limit to misuse of power,” Thackeray said. He asked his party workers to stay alert against any malpractices by rival parties in the polls. Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray also urged those who love Mumbai and Maharashtra to cast their vote. Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray are fighting their toughest battle yet as they join forces in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls, aiming to control the country’s richest civic body with a budget of over Rs 74,000 crore. The cousins have placed the cause of the “Marathi manoos” and Marathi pride at the centre of their campaign.

 

 

MAHARASHTRA State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare on Thursday said viral videos showing people removing ink from their fingers after casting vote are under investigation, warning of action against attempts to spread a false narrative. Social media was flooded with videos of common voters, politicians and mediapersons using Acetone to wipe off the ‘indelible’ ink applied with marker pens on their fingers after voting. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), however, rejected reports claiming that the ink marks on voters’ fingers were being wiped off during the ongoing civic polls. Acetone is a colourless, volatile and flammable organic solvent with a sweet, pungent odour, widely used in nail polish removers, paint thinners, and cleaning agents due to its ability to dissolve many substances. State Election Commissioner Waghmare said that the ‘indelible’ ink takes time to dry and shouldn’t be wiped off. Marker ink from the Kores company has been in use since 2011.

 

The chemical composition of the ink is also correct, he said at a press conference. ‘The viral videos of the marker ink being wiped off are being investigated and case will be filed against those trying to spread a fake narrative,’ he said. Given the experience of marker pens, the ‘indelible’ ink will be used in the Zilla Parishad polls next month, he added. Waghmare also said that only one complaint of bogus voting has been received, and action has been taken accordingly. On the issue of voters finding their names absent at polling booths where they voted in the Lok Sabha and assembly polls, he said the voters’ list has been split as per ward. It is the duty of the voter and the candidate to find out in advance, he maintained. “The SEC has been made a soft target.

 

The poll body cannot be blamed for everything. The assembly and Lok Sabha polling booths may not be the same for the ward-wise polling,’ he said. Waghmare said state minister Ganesh Naik went to the wrong polling booth in Navi Mumbai and hence his voting got delayed. Earlier in the day, Mumbai Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Varsha Gaikwad posted a video of her party colleague using Acetone to wipe off the ink from his finger. “BMC wiping off accountability? Since morning we have been receiving several reports of how the marker ink being used to show voting has been done, is easily being wiped off. My colleague and his wife here demonstrate how this ink can be easily wiped off with acetone or nail polish remover,” she posted on X.

 

The management of the BMC polls this time raises several questions about accountability and transparency, Gaikwad said. “The various last minute bribes to voters going unchecked, the missing names of voters, the SEC website crashing making it difficult for voters to find their names, ink that is being easily wiped. The faith of the people in our democratic process must be protected at all costs but the election commission and the BMC seem to be completely unbothered about it. Shame!” she wrote on X. A journalist from a TV channel posted a video of wiping off the ink using Acetone in his studio, shortly after returning from Panvel, where he cast his vote in the civic polls there. Reacting to the claims of the ink being wiped off, the BMC said in a statement that such media reports were factually incorrect. As per procedure, polling staff apply indelible ink to one finger of the voter’s left hand at the time of casting the vote on the electronic voting machine at the polling station, it said.

 

 

BOLLYWOOD personalities Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan, Gulzar and Salim Khan cast their votes in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls on Thursday, and also urged Mumbaikars to be active participants in the electoral process. Actor-politician Hema Malini, other actors, including John Abraham, Sonali Bendre, Isha Koppikar, Tamannaah Bhatia and Divya Dutta, and singer Kailash Kher also exercised their franchise. Voting began at 7.30 am for the BMC and 28 other municipal corporations in Maharashtra and will conclude at 5.30 pm. Kumar, one of the first to arrive at the polling booth, emphasised the importance of voting for the right candidate instead of merely voicing grievances. He said today is the day when Mumbaikars have the “remote control” (to elect public representatives) in their hands. Therefore, people should come out and vote, rather than complaining later about issues related to electricity, water and road infrastructure, he added. “So, now it’s our turn and we all should step out and vote to elect the right person. If you want to be the real hero of Mumbai, then instead of dialogues, you should come and vote,” Kumar told reporters after casting his vote. His actor-author wife, Twinkle Khanna, also voted.

 

“It gives us a sense of control, a little bit of power over the narrative. I’m voting out of habit and hope,” she said. Aamir Khan also cast his vote and appealed to all voters to exercise their franchise. “The BMC has made good arrangements, so please come and vote,” he said. Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan also exercised his franchise. “I’ve cast my vote, you all also vote,” Khan (90) said. His sentiments resonated with many other celebrities, including acclaimed lyricist-poet Gulzar, who underscored the importance of voting in a democratic society. “We are rooted in our homeland, and your vote is to nurture those roots and democracy, hence we should fulfil this duty (of voting) towards our country. If you don’t vote, you lose the right to complain,” Gulzar said.

 

Actor-politician Hema Malini, along with fellow actors Nana Patekar, Suniel Shetty and musician Vishal Dadlani, appealed to Mumbaikars to step out and cast their vote. Patekar, who travelled for three hours from Pune to fulfil his civic responsibility, said, “I understand that the significance of my existence is to vote and for this I travelled (from Pune), and I’m returning immediately. Don’t stay at home, step out and please do vote.” Malini also said voting for the right candidates is essential to achieve a cleaner, safer and better Mumbai. If people want security, progress, clean air, and pothole-free roads in Mumbai, then everyone has to take responsibility and vote, she said. “Only by exercising your right to vote will you be able to make Mumbai,?? which I believe is the best city in the world, even better,” she added. Shetty said BMC polls are the most important grassroots election and when the local area progresses, the country will automatically progress.

 

“We often blame the BMC that it doesn’t do this or that, but they work tirelessly even late at night. It is important that all the voters step out to vote,” he said. Music composer Dadlani expressed angst for the low turnout at voting booths and called it “shameful”. “It’s your country, your city, your responsibility and if you can take care of it, take care of it, but if not, sit at home and do whatever you are doing, because what I’m seeing here, there is no sign of the public. There are more officials inside and fewer citizens and it’s so shameful,” he said. Every Indian should be pained seeing this, Dadlani said. “If we don’t take care of our country, if we don’t take responsibility for it, then what’s happening will continue to happen,” he added.

 

Other prominent film personalities who cast their votes included Zoya Akhtar, Sanya Malhotra, Rakesh Roshan, Aamir Khan’s first wife Reena Dutta, and daughter Ira Khan. In Mumbai, the electoral battle is between the BJP-led Mahayuti and the alliance of cousins Raj and Uddhav Thackeray for control of the cash-rich BMC, which has an annual budget of more than Rs 74,000 crore.