Thackeray Cousins Lead Mumbai March Against CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday led a protest march in Mumbai against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The march, titled Virat Garjana Morcha, began near Metro Cinema and passed through the area around the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters in south Mumbai. Leaders from the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) also joined the demonstration.

The Thackeray cousins alleged that the electoral process had been compromised and demanded that the SIR exercise in Maharashtra be scrapped. Raj Thackeray also called for an end to the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and a return to ballot papers. He questioned the reduction in the number of voters following the revision exercise and argued that the Election Commission should not determine who holds political power, saying that decision rests with voters.

Uddhav Thackeray also targeted the Election Commission over the voter-roll revision and alleged that the process had affected people's voting rights. He questioned the stated objective of identifying and removing ineligible voters, including alleged illegal immigrants, and asked how many such individuals had actually been identified through the exercise. The allegations made at the rally were directed at the election authorities and come amid a wider political debate over the revision of electoral rolls.

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More than 2.06 crore electors, or 21.14 per cent of Maharashtra's previous electorate, were not included in the draft electoral roll published after the SIR. The state had around 9.78 crore voters before the exercise, while the draft roll contained more than 7.71 crore names, including about 3.95 crore men, 3.75 crore women and 3,087 third-gender voters. Officials said the excluded names largely involved enumeration forms that could not be collected because individuals were untraceable, deceased or had moved from their registered addresses.

Pune recorded the highest number of uncollectable enumeration forms at around 28.6 lakh, followed by Thane with 28.5 lakh and Mumbai Suburban with 26.5 lakh, according to officials. Nagpur recorded about 14.43 lakh such forms, while Nashik and Mumbai City reported around 10.27 lakh and 9.5 lakh respectively. Eligible voters whose names were missing from the draft roll were allowed to submit claims and objections until September 30, with the final electoral roll scheduled for publication on November 4.

The Mumbai protest comes amid growing political opposition to the SIR process and demands for greater scrutiny of the electoral-roll revision. The demonstration was also held two days after another protest against the Chief Election Commissioner at Shivaji Park. The latest mobilisation by the Thackeray cousins brings together parties and political groups seeking changes in the conduct of the electoral process, while the Election Commission's revision exercise continues toward publication of the final voter list.

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