Thackeray Team Vs. Shinde Sena, Clash Amid EVM Seat Dispute

Amid controversy over allegations that a Shiv Sena candidate’s aide’s phone was linked to an EVM during vote counting in Mumbai’s Northwest Lok Sabha seat, NDA and INDIA bloc leaders in Maharashtra are exchanging accusations.

Ravindra Waikar, a Shiv Sena leader under Eknath Shinde, narrowly won the Mumbai Northwest seat by just 48 votes, beating Amol Kirtikar from Uddhav Thackeray’s faction. Overall, the Thackeray-led group secured nine Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, while Shinde’s Sena got seven. Following this, leaders from Uddhav Thackeray’s party called for the release of CCTV footage from counting day.

When the Election Commission dismissed the news reports, Aaditya Thackeray, Uddhav Thackeray’s son, and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said the Election Commission lacked the courage to release the CCTV footage of the counting center.

He said, “We have always had suspicions about this regime tampering with EVMs. Even Elon Musk has expressed his views, claiming everything can be hacked. Despite several requests, the Election Commission does not dare to release the CCTV footage of the counting day that would support our claims,”

Team Thackeray, supported by ally Congress, seeks a stay on the Mumbai Northwest Lok Sabha seat poll results. Prithviraj Chavan, a senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra CM, urges the EC to convene a meeting with all parties to address this matter comprehensively.

He said, “There must be a probe into the unauthorized use of the mobile phone. The FIR report has not been made public.”

The Mumbai Northwest seat’s political controversy even escalated due to a social media comment by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who suggested abolishing electronic voting machines due to the potential hacking risk.

BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar swiftly countered Musk’s remark, affirming the security of India’s EVMs, which are isolated from networks and deemed impenetrable.

“Wherever the Maha Vikas Aghadi has won, there the EVM machine has functioned correctly. But wherever they lose, they are (opposition) raising objections on the machine. What kind of behavior is this?” The Shiv Sena leader, who rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray, leading to the party’s split and the fall of the Maharashtra government, questioned the Opposition’s stance on EVMs.