Opposition Slams ‘Money Muscle’ and Voter List Chaos During Maharashtra Civic Polls

Mumbai: As voting continued across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, opposition parties launched sharp attacks on the ruling alliance, accusing it of misusing financial power and blaming the State Election Commission (SEC) for widespread administrative lapses, especially related to voter lists.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Legislative Council Opposition Leader Ambadas Danve, after casting his vote in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, alleged that the ruling BJP was relying on money rather than governance to influence voters. He claimed that reports of cash distribution flooded the city through the night before polling day, creating unrest in several areas just hours before voting began.

Danve said that if development claims made by the ruling party were genuine, there would be no need to “flood cities with money” to secure votes. He accused the administration of functioning under political pressure and alleged that the State Election Commission had failed to act decisively despite repeated complaints. According to him, the public is mature enough to see through what he described as “fake narratives of development” and will respond appropriately through the ballot.

He also linked the demand for political change to agrarian distress, pointing out that more than a thousand farmers reportedly died by suicide last year, urging voters not to be swayed by what he called misleading propaganda.

Similar concerns were raised by NCP leader Rohit Pawar, who criticised the SEC over confusion surrounding voter lists in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Navi Mumbai and other regions. Pawar cited the example of BJP minister Ganesh Naik, who reportedly had to search for nearly an hour to locate his and his family members’ names on electoral rolls. He alleged that ward boundaries and voter data were altered to benefit the ruling alliance and demanded accountability from the election authorities.