Opposition leaders allege ‘hacking’ of EC server, demand halt to Maharashtra civic polls till voter rolls are rectified

A day after the opposition in Maharashtra accused the Election Commission of “eroding public trust” through opaque management of voter rolls, a political storm erupted on Wednesday following fresh allegations of a breach of the Election Commission’s server.

Senior opposition leaders, including Jayant Patil (NCP), Raj Thackeray (MNS) and Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena – UBT), have launched a fresh offensive, claiming that the integrity of Maharashtra’s electoral rolls have been compromised and calling for an immediate halt to the upcoming municipal elections.

“The EC server has been hacked. Third party infiltration of the Commission’s electoral roll is a serious issue,” Jayant Patil said on Wednesday, demanding an investigation into the alleged breach.
Raj Thackeray said the Election Commission’s refusal to make the electoral roll public “has created a huge mess”, warning that secrecy of election data “can destroy the credibility of the entire process”.

Uddhav Thackeray went further and said: “Imposing dictatorship in the name of democracy will not be allowed. Elections should not take place until the electoral roll is rectified. »

The fresh remarks come just a day after opposition leaders, including Sharad Pawar, Raj and Uddhav Thackeray, Jayant Patil, Balasaheb Thorat and others, sent a joint petition to the state’s chief electoral officer demanding complete transparency in voter roll revisions and mandatory use of VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit) machines Trail) in delayed local elections.