- Demands included scrapping voter list revision and ending EVMs.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday joined hands to lead a protest march in Mumbai against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Leaders of the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) in Maharashtra also participated in the Virat Garjana Morcha, which began at Metro Cinema and was headed towards the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters in south Mumbai.
The protesters demanded the removal or resignation of Kumar, alleging irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls.
Party flags were not permitted during the march, with participants and supporters asked to carry only the national tricolour.
ठाकरेंचा मोर्चा, देशभर चर्चा! https://t.co/2l2W7lcPhs
— ShivSena – शिवसेना Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (@ShivSenaUBT_) October 4, 2026
Raj Thackeray Demands Scrapping Of SIR
Addressing thousands of supporters, Raj Thackeray called for the SIR exercise in Maharashtra to be withdrawn completely and demanded an end to voting through electronic voting machines.
“The SIR process in Maharashtra must be completely scrapped. Voting through EVMs (electronic voting machines) in the country should be stopped, and we should go back to voting through ballot papers,” he said.
Thackeray also questioned the deletion of voters from the electoral rolls.
“I have been saying since 2017-18 that there is something wrong here. The number of votes cannot suddenly decrease,” he said.
He further said the protest was aimed at the manner in which the government was being run and questioned the role of the Election Commission in deciding who should govern.
“Our anger is about how this government is being run and through what means it is being run. The Election Commission will not decide who should be in power the people will decide,” he said.
Uddhav Says Voting Rights ‘Snatched Away’
Uddhav Thackeray also targeted Kumar during the protest, alleging that the Chief Election Commissioner had “snatched away” people’s voting rights.
The march brought together the two Thackeray-led parties, along with Maharashtra leaders of the Congress and NCP (SP), over concerns surrounding the SIR exercise.
The protest was held two days after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), described as a Gen-Z youth protest movement, organised a ‘Jail Bharo Andolan’ against Kumar at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park.
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Over 2 Crore Voters Missing From Draft Roll
The opposition’s concerns over the SIR come against the backdrop of more than 2.06 crore electors, or 21.14 per cent of Maharashtra’s previous voter base, not figuring in the draft electoral roll following the exercise.
Before the SIR, Maharashtra had 9.78 crore voters. Of these, 78.86 per cent were included in the draft roll.
According to data released in August, the draft electoral roll has more than 7.71 crore voters, comprising 3.95 crore men, 3.75 crore women and 3,087 third-gender voters.
A total of 2,06,88,487 people were not included in the draft roll as their enumeration forms were uncollectable. Officials said these voters were either untraceable, dead or had shifted their residences.
Eligible voters whose names were missing from the draft roll were allowed to submit claims and objections until September 30.
The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on November 4.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: abplive.com
