Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has voiced his support for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's claims of electoral fraud, alleging that manipulation in voting is not a new phenomenon. Thackeray asserted that votes are being stolen, preventing them from reaching the intended candidates. He has called upon his party workers to be alert and carefully examine voter lists to prevent irregularities ahead of the upcoming municipal elections.
Thackeray recalled his previous call to boycott the Lok Sabha elections, believing it would have garnered international attention and exerted pressure. He expressed disappointment that his advice was not heeded at the time. He stated that Rahul Gandhi has now brought the issue back into focus, highlighting the allegations of "vote-chori" and electoral manipulation. According to Thackeray, if Gandhi's claims were thoroughly investigated, many instances of political manipulation from the last 12–14 years would be exposed.
Earlier this month, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Election Commission was colluding with the BJP to steal elections. Gandhi claimed fraudulent voter additions in Karnataka's Mahadevapura constituency, alleging over one lakh fake names had been inserted. The Election Commission has issued a rebuttal, demanding that Gandhi either provide evidence or apologize.
Thackeray stated that he had been raising concerns about voter list discrepancies for a long time and had even discussed the matter with leaders like Sharad Pawar and Mamata Banerjee. He said that governments have been formed by exploiting this electoral mess since 2014. He also claimed that in 2016-2017, he advised the opposition to boycott elections to build international pressure, but his counsel was ignored. "Do not think that you are not getting votes. The votes are being stolen, leading to our defeat. This is how they are coming to power," he asserted. He cited the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls, pointing to figures from BJP, Eknath Shinde's faction, and Ajit Pawar's NCP group to argue that both winners and losers were left puzzled by irregular results.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has responded to Thackeray's claims, accusing him of misleading his supporters and attempting to console them after repeated electoral failures. Fadnavis stated that Thackeray is trying to convince his workers that they were close to victory but lost due to a conspiracy. He added, "They are simply trying to console their own people, telling them they were on the verge of victory and lost only due to a conspiracy. This way their workers don't scatter".
