The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) elections with the help of bogus voters, claimed Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik. The minister made the claim after around two lakh names were removed during the recent SIR process. According to the minister, "the local ruling party directly took advantage of these voters. During the municipal elections, we informed the commissioner about fake voters, but it was ignored. As a result, despite the public support being in our favour, the mandate in the elections went in favour of the ruling party."
Draft voter lists for Maharashtra's assembly constituencies were published on August 31 as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive. The data for both the assembly constituencies of Mira-Bhayander city, 145 Mira-Bhayander and 146 Ovla-Majiwada, shows a large number of voter entries required verification.
As per the SIR data, out of the total of 514,950 voters in the 145 Mira-Bhayander assembly constituency, 310,1905 records are available, while 213,045 records need verification. In the 146 Ovala-Majiwada assembly constituency, out of a total of 292,537 voters, 148,418 records are available, while 142,661 records need verification. According to Sarnaik, these figures include records of deceased, transferred, or duplicate voters.
Despite the BJP and Shiv Sena being united in the Mahayuti (grand alliance), these allegations against the BJP by a Shiv Sena minister are likely to spark controversy in local politics.
Maharashtra SIR: Why were 2.06 crore voters left out of draft electoral roll?
The first draft following the SIR in Maharashtra has deleted more than 2 crore voters from the electoral roll, data from the state's Chief Electoral Officer revealed after the first phase of the exercise. The draft electoral rolls for all 288 assembly constituencies in Maharashtra were published on Monday, August 31, 2026, marking a major stage in the ongoing revision of the state's voter database.
Before the Special Intensive Revision process began, Maharashtra had a total of 9,78,54,049 registered voters. However, the revised draft electoral roll currently includes 7,71,65,562 voters, representing 78.86 per cent of the total electorate recorded before the SIR exercise.
This means that 2,06,88,487 voters, or 21.14 per cent of the previously registered electorate, have not been included in the draft voter list. The revised draft roll includes 3,95,89,905 male voters, 3,75,72,570 female voters and 3,087 third-gender voters.
(Report: Hanif Patel)
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