'Truth Morcha': Opposition parties in Maha rally for transparent polls, demand clean electoral rolls

Mumbai, Nov 1 (IANS) Opposition parties in Maharashtra -- including Shiv Sena-UBT, Congress, NCP-SP, CPI, CPM, Peasants and Workers Party, and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) -- on Saturday took out a morcha in south Mumbai, appealing to party cadres and voters to remain alert against vote theft, duplicate and bogus voters, and anomalies in electoral rolls, especially ahead of the upcoming local and civic body elections.

Terming the rally as a "truth morcha", the opposition parties claimed they had come together to protect the Constitution of India and its sanctity, while making a strong pitch for free, fair, and transparent elections.

Veteran leaders including NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat, MNS chief Raj Thackeray, and others urged their party cadres and voters to stay vigilant ahead of the elections and to prevent irregularities in the electoral rolls.

They maintained that the opposition had set aside political differences to unite on the issue of safeguarding the people’s right to vote.

Activists from various opposition parties gathered in large numbers, raising slogans accusing the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra of exerting control over constitutional and autonomous bodies, including the Election Commission.

The morcha, which began at Fashion Street and culminated at Azad Maidan, saw opposition supporters carrying party flags, placards, and banners demanding fair elections and clean voter rolls.

Veteran Shiv Sena-UBT legislator Bhaskar Jadhav said: "Today's morcha will bring a revolution and shake the BJP, which has been winning elections through vote theft."

NCP-SP legislator from Malshiraj constituency Uttam Jankar alleged vote rigging during the state Assembly elections, claiming that the poll panel had not responded to repeated representations regarding deletion of votes and EVM malfunctioning. He urged participants to foil any attempt to remove genuine voters or tamper with electronic voting machines.

State Congress chief spokesperson Sachin Sawant took a jibe at the BJP, saying: "We have heard that the Bharatiya Janata Party has staged a silent protest against today's morcha. Will the Election Commission also participate in this silent protest? We are eager to see that."

Opposition leaders, including Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, questioned the "hurry" in holding local and civic body elections despite significant errors in the voters’ lists. They demanded that the polls be postponed by a year to allow time for rectifying the discrepancies in the electoral rolls.

Sharad Pawar and other leaders appealed to cadres to step up outreach efforts, ensuring that the names of eligible voters are correctly included in the rolls. They also asked workers to identify duplicate and bogus voters and ensure that such names are excluded to protect the integrity of the voting process.

--IANS

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