Thackeray leaders lead Mumbai protest over election-roll revision

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray led a joint protest march in Mumbai against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the functioning of the Election Commission. The march, called the Virat Garjana Morcha, began at Metro Cinema in south Mumbai and was scheduled to proceed towards the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters. Organisers said the demonstration was prompted by alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Protesters demanded the removal or resignation of Kumar and raised wider objections to the Election Commission’s work. Raj Thackeray criticised the chief election commissioner during the protest, using the phrase “Gyanesh kaka, dale vote pa daka”, which translates as an accusation that Kumar was stealing votes. Leaders of the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) also took part in the march.

Their participation brought several opposition groups together around criticism of the electoral-roll revision process. A notable feature of the demonstration was the organisers’ decision not to allow party flags. Participants and supporters were instructed to carry only the national tricolour.

The joint appearance by the two Thackeray leaders followed protests by their parties against the Election Commission. It also came two days after the Cockroach Janta Party held a “Jail Bharo Andolan” at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park against Kumar. The material supplied does not include a response from the Election Commission or Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to the allegations made during the march.