Uddhav Thackeray demands election chief’s removal and repeat polls in three states

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray has called for the removal and imprisonment of India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and demanded fresh elections in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Speaking at a press conference in Mumbai, Thackeray said future elections should be held using paper ballots. He urged opposition parties to unite, alleging that decisions by the Election Commission had damaged democracy and should be revoked.

Thackeray accused Kumar of acting on the instructions of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The supplied report did not include a response from Shah or Kumar to that allegation. He also referred to reported differences among the three election commissioners and thanked Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

Thackeray described their recorded objections as a rebellion and said they now had a majority. The Election Commission has rejected the interpretation of reports about internal disagreements, saying inputs made at the draft stage should not be treated as final decisions. Thackeray further alleged that the commission had wrongly awarded the Shiv Sena name and election symbol to a rival faction.

He also claimed that voter names had been added and removed in large numbers in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, citing figures for deletions and objections without supporting details in the supplied account. He warned that failure to act against Kumar could lead people to take matters into their own hands and said loss of confidence in elections could produce anarchy. The report did not indicate any official action following his demands.