Raj, Uddhav Thackeray Announce Joint Protest March Against Election Commission on October 4

MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 29: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday announced a joint protest march against the Election Commission on October 4.

The march will begin from Byculla and proceed towards the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters, the two leaders said at a joint press conference.

Raj Thackeray said the protest would target the Election Commission and invited other political parties to participate. He said the MNS had been raising concerns over Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and the functioning of the Election Commission for several years, but claimed that no satisfactory resolution had been found.

Raj Thackeray also extended his party's support to the proposed Jail Bharo Andolan announced by Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke against the Election Commission. Dipke has announced the protest at Shivaji Park on October 2 at 4 pm.

The announcement comes amid opposition protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demands for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Dipke had earlier claimed that Mumbai Police denied permission for the protest. Police, however, said they were not empowered to grant permission for gatherings at Shivaji Park under a 2013 Bombay High Court order designating the area as a silence zone. Police advised the organisers to seek an alternative venue.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has also backed protests against Kumar. In a post on X, he said that if the Chief Election Commissioner did not step down, people in Mumbai would turn out in large numbers from October 2 to protest what he described as "Vote Chori".

The Congress has also intensified its campaign, organising demonstrations across state capitals and districts. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge demanded Kumar's resignation and said the party would continue to raise its concerns over the SIR exercise.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC), chaired by Kharge, on Tuesday demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, suspension of the SIR of electoral rolls and restoration of what the party claims are 13.30 crore names removed from the electoral rolls.

In its resolution, the CWC accused the Narendra Modi government and the Election Commission of undermining electoral democracy. The party said it would pursue the issue "in Parliament, in the courts and on the streets" until, in its view, the Election Commission was restored as an independent constitutional authority.

The CWC also alleged that the RSS-BJP had sought to influence the electoral process with the assistance of the Election Commission under Kumar. The party said recent reports of differences within the poll panel had reinforced Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's concerns over what he has termed "Vote Chori".