Mumbai (Maharashtra)

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday alleged that the Maharashtra State Election Commission had given an "open licence" to Mahayuti parties, including the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, to distribute money during door-to-door campaigns.

Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Raut claimed that the Election Commission allowed door-to-door campaigning despite the Model Code of Conduct coming into force and the official suspension of campaigning on Tuesday.

"Campaigning ended yesterday. According to the rules, laws, and the Model Code of Conduct, campaigning officially stopped yesterday. However, suddenly, the Maharashtra Election Commission said that even after campaigning has ended, you can still go door to door and campaign. What kind of rule is this? This directly gives the Bharatiya Janata Party, Eknath Shinde, and Ajit Pawar permission and a licence to distribute money openly during door-to-door campaigns," Raut said.

Raut further alleged large-scale deletion of voter names, claiming that around 60 lakh voters were removed from the electoral rolls in Bihar, nearly 1.25 crore in Uttar Pradesh, and about 54 lakh in West Bengal. He said such deletions could influence election outcomes.

"Look, in Bihar, around 60 lakh names have been removed from the voter list. The same has happened in Maharashtra as well. In Uttar Pradesh, the process of deleting nearly one and a quarter crore names from the voter list is going on at a rapid pace. And what figure have you given for West Bengal--54 lakh? Removing the names of 54 lakh voters in a single state has the potential to change the outcome of elections," Raut said.

Claiming that the BJP does not fight elections fairly, Raut said the Hindu-Muslim narrative has failed in West Bengal and has now been replaced by what he described as the Enforcement Directorate versus the Trinamool Congress.

"The reality is that the Bharatiya Janata Party has never fought elections in a fair manner. In West Bengal, the Hindu-Muslim narrative has failed. Now, in West Bengal, it is no longer about Hindu versus Muslim, but about the Enforcement Directorate versus the Trinamool Congress. That is why the BJP has conspired to remove nearly 60 lakh votes, but despite this, Mamata Didi will win with a massive majority," he added.

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Elections to 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). Polling will be held on January 15, with counting scheduled for January 16.