Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Monday claimed the BJP would have won only 40 seats in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls if they were held in a free and fair manner.
Addressing a press conference here, Thackeray also termed as "fraud" the result of the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha seat where Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Amol Kirtikar lost by 48 votes to rival Ravindra Waikar of the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
"Our victory was snatched away by misusing the official machinery," the MLA claimed.
Thackeray said his party will move court with a petition challenging the Mumbai North West seat poll result.
"If the elections were held in a free and fair manner, then the BJP would have won only 40 seats and not 240," he claimed.
Notably, the Vanrai police in Mumbai have registered a case against Waikar's brother-in-law for allegedly using a mobile phone at a counting centre in Goregaon (which is part of Waikar's constituency) on June 4, when results of the general elections were announced.
"We have a doubt that the mobile phone (seized as part of probe) may have been changed," Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former state minister Anil Parab said.
He said the Election Commission of India should take suo motu (on its own) action based on the information available and declare Kirtikar as winner.
"The election result declared is suspicious. We are taking legal recourse. We are moving the court in a day or two," he said.
Parab said the counting process for the Mumbai North West seat was fine till the 19th round but there was no transparency after that.
"Till the 19th round, our tally was 650 votes more than the opposite candidate," he said.
Parab also claimed that forms 17C and 17C II (pertaining to number of votes polled) were not given to the candidates at many places.
"A probe is also needed into the constant phone calls to the returning officer of the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha seat. She would move away from her seat several times to talk on phone," he claimed.
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