Raj Thackeray Demands Cancellation of SIR, Return to Ballot Paper Voting

Mumbai, Oct 4 : Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday demanded the cancellation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Maharashtra and called for a return to ballot paper-based voting, asserting that elections must be conducted through a process that inspires public confidence.

Addressing a public meeting following the ‘Garjana’ march against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, Thackeray said his two principal demands were the immediate cancellation of the SIR exercise in Maharashtra and the use of ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in future elections.

“Voters are increased during Assembly elections to gain power and then two crore voters are removed through SIR. Who are these people?” he questioned.

Thackeray insisted that the SIR process should be scrapped under any circumstances and that elections should be conducted using ballot papers to establish “doodh ka doodh and paani ka paani”.

He also appealed to all political parties to raise the issue with the Centre in Delhi, irrespective of which party comes to power in the future.

“It does not matter who comes to power tomorrow, but power must come through the right means,” he said.

Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray led a large protest march in Mumbai against the Election Commission and CEC Gyanesh Kumar. The march, backed by the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and other opposition parties, proceeded from Metro Cinema to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters.

Addressing the gathering, Raj Thackeray alleged that concerns over manipulation of electoral rolls had troubled the country for several years. He said he had been raising the issue of “vote theft” since 2017 and had also met Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee to discuss the matter.

“I have been saying continuously that votes are being stolen,” Thackeray said, adding that he had at one point even advocated an election boycott over the issue.

Referring to the 2024 elections in Maharashtra, Thackeray questioned the scale of the victory claimed by the ruling Mahayuti alliance. He alleged that the number of voters had increased substantially, claiming that 40 to 60 lakh voters were added during the period, while the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections together witnessed an increase of around one crore votes.

“There was no celebration or enthusiasm among people after the 2024 victory in Maharashtra. There was complete silence. Then what kind of victory was this?” he asked.

Thackeray also launched a wider attack on the functioning of the government, alleging that forests, projects and ports were being handed over to the same industrialist and accusing the government of functioning arbitrarily.

He further alleged that key institutions, including the Supreme Court, High Courts and the Election Commission, were being brought under control.

“We are changing the structure of this country. This march is against all of this,” he said.

Criticising the government's economic policies, Thackeray alleged that the country was being pushed towards economic instability and accused the ruling establishment of showing little concern over issues such as fuel prices and the country's economic position.

The ‘Garjana’ march saw participation from supporters of the Thackeray factions as well as leaders and workers of several opposition parties, turning the protest into a significant display of opposition unity in Mumbai.