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MVA Protest Today: The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has taken to the streets to protest the alleged ‘vote theft’ during the Maharashtra Assembly elections. The opposition members have termed the rally 'Satyacha Morcha'. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), led by Raj Thackeray, is also part of the protest. NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar will also join the present.

The MVA rally is set to take place at 1 PM and will start from Metro Cinema in Mumbai and proceed to the BMC office. Although the police did not permit the rally, the opposition parties have decided to go ahead with the protest. The protest rally is set to go on for three hours and conclude at 4 PM. According to Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab said that the rally will not cause any inconvenience to the common people.

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Earlier, ahead of the protest rally, MNS chief Raj Thackeray had criticised the Election Commission, which added 96 lakh fake voters. Addressing a party meeting on October 26, the 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."

Echoing the MNS leaders' claim, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut also backed Thackeray's claim and said that electoral irregularities took place during the assembly elections and compared them to 'match-fixing'. He accused the BJP of orchestrating these 'match-fixing' and contesting in the elections after rigging them. 

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Meanwhile, Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar has openly criticised the BJP, and said, "All our opposition parties, including Raj Thackeray's party, are participating in it. They (NDA) stole votes and seized power. This theft has been caught, yet the Election Commission is not willing to listen. That's why today's protest demonstration is happening."

BJP-Led Mahayuti Reaction

Shiv Sena leader Manisha Kayande criticised the MVA protest and deemed it 'illegal' since the leaders do not have any police permission. She highlighted two main issues which has been raised by the Mahayuti as well and said, "First, they object to the faulty voter list, and we agree that it should be clean and clear. Second, they are raising concerns about EVMs. Yet when the Election Commission invited hackers to demonstrate whether EVMs could be hacked, no such individuals came forward. These people are facing an existential crisis and have merely gathered to display their strength." 

BJP MLA Ram Kadam also criticised the movement of the MVA against the EC and highlighted the political irony of Congress and MNS leaders. "And this is the same MNS which used to beat North Indians and Biharis on the streets. Today’s march is not a genuine protest. It is entirely aimed at spreading confusion in people’s minds. This is not the Maha Vikas Aghadi; during their time in power, it was a Maha Vasooli Aghadi. Now that their extortion opportunities are over, they are spreading confusion to try to return to power," he added. 

Allegations of manipulation in the voters' list have been raised by multiple opposition leader,s including Rahul Gandhi, alleging that the ECI colluded with the BJP to help the party win rigged elections throughout the country. 

(With inputs from ANI)

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