Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Sunday led 'Virat Garjana Morcha' a joint protest march in Mumbai against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his resignation and the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Maharashtra. Raj also called for a return to ballot papers, alleging that the credibility of elections had been undermined by irregularities in voter lists and the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs).
The 'Virat Garjana Morcha' began at Metro Cinema and proceeded towards the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters. Leaders of the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party also participated. Organisers had appealed to participants to carry only the national flag and refrain from displaying party flags.
Addressing the concluding meeting, Raj questioned the alleged addition and deletion of voters during successive electoral exercises. He claimed that voter numbers had increased substantially during the Assembly elections, while the SIR process could result in the deletion of around two crore voters in Maharashtra.
“My two demands are simple: scrap the SIR conducted in Maharashtra and hold future elections using ballot papers,” Raj said, arguing that ballot papers would help establish the fairness of the electoral process. He urged all political parties to raise the issue with the Centre in Delhi, stressing that governments must come to power through legitimate means, irrespective of which party wins.
Raj also referred to former Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh’s reported views on the circumstances under which an intensive revision of electoral rolls could be undertaken. He questioned the legality of conducting such an exercise simultaneously across the country.
Claiming that concerns over alleged electoral manipulation had persisted for years, Raj said he had been raising the issue since 2017 and had discussed it with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee. He also questioned the lack of public enthusiasm following the Mahayuti alliance’s victory in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, citing what he described as a significant increase in voter numbers between the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.
Taking aim at the government, Raj alleged that key institutions, including the judiciary and the Election Commission, were being brought under the influence of those in power. He also criticised what he described as the concentration of natural resources, infrastructure projects and ports in the hands of a single industrialist.
Uddhav, meanwhile, reiterated that two crore voters had been removed from Maharashtra’s electoral rolls and claimed that around 13 crore voters had been deleted across the country. Referring to West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, he cited alleged deletions of 30 lakh and 70 lakh voters, respectively, and questioned the rationale behind the exercise.
“If the SIR was conducted to remove Bangladeshis from the voters’ list, how many Bangladeshis residing illegally in the country have the government actually identified?” Uddhav asked, challenging the Centre to explain the outcome of the exercise.
He also questioned the process of appointing the Chief Election Commissioner, alleging that changes to the selection committee had weakened institutional independence. Uddhav said the earlier selection panel included the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India, but the Chief Justice was subsequently replaced by a Union minister nominated by the Prime Minister. He alleged that the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar was politically biased and criticised the delay in judicial proceedings concerning the selection process.
Accusing the BJP of mismanaging the administration, Uddhav said governance had increasingly become an exercise in political vendetta. He described the Election Commission as a tool in the hands of the ruling establishment and warned that citizens would resist attempts to curtail their voting rights.
“The institutions may be under your control, and you may have the administration at your disposal, but the streets belong to the people,” he said, warning the government against ignoring public anger over electoral reforms and alleged voter deletions.
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