Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray jointly led a large protest march in Mumbai against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The demonstration, named the Virat Garjana Morcha, began at Metro Cinema and concluded near the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters. Protesters carried only the Indian national flag, while political party flags were not permitted during the march.
The Thackeray cousins demanded the cancellation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Maharashtra, alleging irregularities in the process. Raj Thackeray called for future elections in India to be conducted using paper ballots, while Uddhav Thackeray questioned the purpose of the voter roll revision, asking how many illegal Bangladeshi immigrants had actually been identified if that was the stated objective. Both leaders accused the Election Commission of acting unfairly and raised concerns over the transparency of the electoral process.
Several opposition leaders, including senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat, also joined the criticism, alleging that democratic institutions were being weakened. Thorat claimed that concerns over electoral irregularities had been raised repeatedly by the opposition and criticised changes in the appointment process of Election Commission members. The protest came just two days after another demonstration demanding action against the Chief Election Commissioner, adding to the growing political confrontation over the voter list revision issue in Maharashtra.
