Mumbai, June 17, 2024 – In a press conference on Monday, senior leaders from Shiv Sena (UBT) have raised serious concerns about alleged irregularities in the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha Election, where their candidate, Amol Kirtikar, lost by a narrow margin of 48 votes. Party leaders Aaditya Thackeray and Anil Parab detailed several procedural lapses and irregularities that they claim compromised the election's transparency and fairness.
Aaditya Thackeray claims dubious procedure made Kirtikar lose
Aaditya Thackeray opened the conference by addressing the ongoing controversies surrounding the election results. He mentioned that the party's MP, Kirtikar, was initially leading but then fell behind under dubious circumstances.
"All matters have been taken to court and we will take this too. We have won the seat and have the rightful claim. Today, we are going to discuss the technical points, and Anil Parab will explain what exactly happened," Thackeray stated.
He also raised concerns about the Election Commission's operations, questioning whether it was functioning independently or under external influence.
Anil Parab Details Alleged Irregularitie
Anil Parab provided a detailed account of the alleged discrepancies that occurred during the counting process. He pointed out that after the 19th round of counting, the usual transparency in updating vote counts was abruptly halted.
"On June 4th, the result declared showed Amol Kirtikar losing by 48 votes, a defeat we find suspicious. The counting process was marred by irregularities," Parab asserted.
He elaborated on how the Returning Officer (RO) failed to maintain transparency after the 19th round, a point at which updates on vote tallies ceased. Parab claimed that their party repeatedly requested information, but their inquiries were ignored, and the final results were announced without providing them the necessary details.
"During the 19th round, everything was clear and updates were regular. However, after that, the transparency vanished. We suspect foul play as there was a discrepancy of 50 to 600 votes between our tally and theirs," he added.
Parab also highlighted the suspicious behavior of election officials, including unexplained phone calls and the withholding of CCTV footage from the counting center. He accused certain individuals of tampering with the process and mentioned a specific instance where phone communication was questioned but left unresolved.
Shiv Sena (UBT) has decided to take the matter to court, demanding a thorough investigation into the election process and the conduct of the officials involved. They are calling for the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take appropriate action against those found guilty of misconduct.
"We have asked for the CCTV footage and have been denied access. We also have details about phone calls made by officials on the suspicious phone. Our request to the ECI is clear: investigate this matter thoroughly. We will be filing a petition in court to seek justice," Parab concluded.