Overview
- At a Monday press conference, BJP minister Ashish Shelar claimed 16.84 lakh duplicate Muslim voter entries statewide and highlighted 31 constituencies where alleged duplicates exceeded victory margins, a charge not verified by the Election Commission.
- Shelar accused the MVA and MNS of ignoring minority duplicates, used the term “vote jihad,” urged backing for a Special Intensive Revision of rolls, and said the ruling alliance will contest polls within the court-set timeline.
- Uddhav Thackeray rejected the communal framing, said Shelar had effectively confirmed roll errors, announced voter identification centres at Shiv Sena (UBT) shakhas, and vowed to submit the material in court.
- Opposition leaders questioned registration cut-offs they say could bar new 18-year-old voters and raised concerns about the ECI’s Saksham app and data linkage potentially causing wrongful deletions.
- The Supreme Court has directed the Maharashtra State Election Commission to finish local body elections by January 31, 2026, intensifying pressure to resolve the roll-cleaning dispute quickly.