MVA, MNS joint rally in Mumbai against EC to continue despite no police permission

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 1 (ANI): The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Alliance and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) are set to continue with their rally in Mumbai despite not receiving police permission for the march. The rally is being organised to protest against alleged electoral roll manipulation in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, with opposition parties alleging that there were around 96 lakh fake votes which had been added in the 2024 Assembly elections.
The rally is likely to be attended by various leaders of both the MVA and MNS, including state Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray, and MNS chief Raj Thackeray, among others.
The rally is set to take place at 1 PM and will start from Metro Cinema in Mumbai and proceed to the BMC office.
On October 26, Raj Thackeray criticised the Election Commission ahead of the local body elections, claiming that 96 lakh fake voters had been added.
Addressing party workers ahead of local body elections, MNS chief said, "Reliable information has just been received that 9.6 million fake voters have been added. This is an insult to the voters of Maharashtra and the country. All the group presidents (group presidents), branch presidents, and election list heads should go door to door and count the votes. I'm asking the Election Commission not to hold elections in Maharashtra until this is clean."
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has also backed Thackeray's claim, alleging electoral irregularities and "match-fixing" occurred during elections, emphasising the need for a thorough investigation. He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of "match fixing" and contesting elections.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar has openly criticised the BJP, accusing it of manipulating the electoral process to seize power. He expressed concerns over the Election Commission's reluctance to address these issues, prompting today's demonstration.
"All our opposition parties, including Raj Thackeray's party, are participating in it. They (NDA) stole votes and seized power. This theft has been caught, yet the Election Commission is not willing to listen. That's why today's protest demonstration is happening," he said.
Multiple Opposition leaders, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, raised concerns over the electoral roll, alleging that the ECI is colluding with the BJP to help the party win elections.
Earlier, NCP-SCP leader Anil Deshmukh, on the protest in Mumbai against alleged vote theft, emphasised the need for corrections in the voter list.
He pointed out discrepancies, citing the registration of 130 names linked to a single address, including that of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation commissioner, despite his residence being an official bungalow. (ANI)