04 October,2026 02:29 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray. Pic/PTI
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday alleged that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was a "weapon" of the ruling BJP, while Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray demanded the cancellation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Maharashtra.
The two Thackeray cousins led a joint protest march in Mumbai against the Election Commission, with Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leaders also participating. The protest, organised under the banner of the Virat Garjana Morcha, culminated near the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters in south Mumbai.
Addressing the gathering, Uddhav questioned the stated purpose of the SIR exercise and asked how many alleged illegal Bangladeshi immigrants had been identified through the process.
"If the SIR was conducted to weed out Bangladeshis from the voters' list, then how many Bangladeshis residing illegally in the country did the government find," Uddhav Thackeray asked.
He also targeted the CEC over the functioning of the Election Commission.
"Gyanesh Kumar is a weapon of the BJP," the former Maharashtra chief minister alleged.
Raj Thackeray demanded that the SIR exercise in Maharashtra be cancelled. He also called for future elections in the country to be conducted through paper ballots.
The MNS chief has previously raised concerns over the use of electronic voting machines and demanded greater transparency in the electoral process.
Raj Thackeray issued a stern ultimatum to the Election Commission of India (ECI), and laid out two key demands -- the immediate scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and the reintroduction of paper ballots for all future elections.
Addressing a sprawling crowd alongside other political leaders, Raj Thackeray launched a direct assault on the legality of the ongoing SIR process. Citing legal opinions previously voiced by former Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh, the MNS chief declared that carrying out a nationwide SIR drive without specific statutory backing was entirely illegal.
"A Special Intensive Revision can only be conducted under exceptional circumstances -- such as natural disasters, floods, earthquakes, or massive population displacement -- and even then, only for specific constituencies with written justifications," Raj Thackeray asserted. "Executing a blanket nationwide SIR is illegal and has no provision in the law."
The Thackeray cousins' joint appearance at the rally marked a significant political demonstration against the Election Commission, with their parties seeking accountability over the electoral-roll revision process.
Congress leaders Balasaheb Thorat and Vijay Wadettiwar attended the rally, along with Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) leaders Jayant Patil, Shashikant Shinde, Jitendra Awhad and Anil Deshmukh.
Thorat said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had been raising allegations of "vote theft" and claimed that evidence had now emerged through the Election Commission.
"And now that evidence has come out through the Election Commission. The BJP can do anything for power," he said while criticising the manner in which the apex poll panel's members were being appointed.
Thorat also questioned changes made to the process of appointing Election Commission members.
The senior Congress leader claimed that the process of appointing members of the Election Commission was changed after a Supreme Court judge was removed from the selection panel.
The period since 2014 would be remembered as a "dark period" in the country's history, Thorat said, referring to the tenure of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government.
"We now have to correct this. We have to re-establish democracy and Constitution and protect their dignity. All of you will have to rise. You will have to struggle, and once again, all of us will have to work to save democracy," he said.
The Virat Garjana Morcha began at Metro Cinema and proceeded towards the BMC headquarters. Participants demanded the removal or resignation of the CEC over alleged irregularities in the SIR of electoral rolls.
Party flags were not allowed during the march, and participants and supporters were asked to carry only the national Tricolour.
The protest came two days after the Cockroach Janta Party held a "Jail Bharo Andolan" against the CEC at Shivaji Park in Mumbai.
(With inputs from PTI)
