Aaditya Thackeray Backs Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Chori’ Charge, Slams ECI for Weakening Democracy

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has extended strong support to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “vote chori” allegations, asserting that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has permitted electoral malpractice that threatens the very foundation of Indian democracy.

In a post on X, Thackeray lauded Rahul Gandhi for “once again exposing the fraud within the Election Commission that enables the BJP to capture states through vote theft.” He said Gandhi’s presentation on “Vote Chori” was something “every Indian must watch, regardless of political ideology,” as it raised fundamental questions about the sanctity of the people’s mandate.

“The world is watching how our elections are no longer free and fair. This is not about politics or ideology; it is about the value of your vote, which turns to zero because the Election Commission allows one political party to keep fake voters on the list,” Thackeray wrote on X.

The young Shiv Sena (UBT) leader further alleged that the ECI had “turned India’s democracy into a fraudulent exercise” by ignoring mounting evidence of electoral irregularities. “Whoever wins or loses an election, every Indian has the right to an equal value of vote,” he asserted, adding that his party had earlier exposed instances of voter list manipulation in Worli and other Maharashtra constituencies, but the Election Commission “chose to remain silent.”

Echoing Thackeray’s criticism, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi accused the poll body of being complicit in systematic voter tampering. She alleged that there was a deliberate pattern of deleting eligible voters while adding ineligible ones.

“There is a systematic way of removing genuine voters and adding fake ones. The Election Commission must stop reading from a script prepared by the BJP and act as an independent institution,” Chaturvedi said.

Their remarks come amid a growing political storm after Rahul Gandhi alleged large-scale voter fraud in the Haryana Assembly elections, accusing the BJP and the ECI of orchestrating “vote chori.” Gandhi claimed that 25 lakh fake votes were cast, suggesting that one in every eight voters was fake. He further said his team had unearthed 5.21 lakh duplicate voter entries, with some featuring the same photograph under different names.