Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 28 : Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi on Tuesday said he supports the Maha Vikas Aghadi's (MVA) November 1 rally against alleged voter list irregularities, claiming that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has already presented evidence of "vote chori", but the Election Commission has failed to take action.
Speaking to reporters, Azmi said, "I support that. 'Vote chori' has been done. Rahul Gandhi has produced all the data. Even in our areas, hundreds are votes are cast from outside. The Election Commission is not working on this properly. I support this rally, but I am not a member of this alliance."
Earlier, Azmi had backed MNS Chief Raj Thackeray's allegations of 'fake voters', demanding a revision of the voter list before the local body elections in Maharashtra.
"I welcome the statement of MNS chief Raj Thackeray...Those leaders whose vote bank exceeded 1 lakh have lost elections here. Many big leaders of the opposition lost the elections, and the BJP won," Azmi said.
"There is some discrepancy...The elections should be held after the names of fake voters are deleted," he added.
Raj Thackeray criticised the Election Commission ahead of the local body elections, claiming that 9.6 million fake voters had been added.
Addressing party workers ahead of local body elections on Sunday, MNS chief said, "Reliable information has just been received that 9.6 million fake voters have been added. This is an insult to the voters of Maharashtra and the country. All the group presidents (group presidents), branch presidents, and election list heads should go door to door and count the votes. I'm asking the Election Commission not to hold elections in Maharashtra until this is clean."
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut alleged that electoral irregularities and "match-fixing" occur during elections, emphasising the need for a thorough investigation.
He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of "match fixing" and contesting elections, and announced that he would hold a massive march in Mumbai against the Election Commission of India (ECI) on November 1, which party chief Uddhav Thackeray, MNS president Raj Thackeray, and other opposition leaders will join.