Uddhav and Raj Thackeray lead Mumbai march to demand removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar

The Thackeray brothers, Uddhav and Raj, have marched side-by-side through Mumbai to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The joint protest, dubbed the "Virat Garjana Morcha" (Grand Roar March), is a rare display of unity between the once-rival cousins. Starting at Metro Cinema in south Mumbai, the march drew thousands of supporters who made their way to the headquarters of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Sunday.

The central grievance of the protest is the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Opposition parties allege that the process has been marred by widespread irregularities, which they claim amount to systemic voter manipulation.

To emphasise a united front rather than partisan division, organisers banned all political party flags. Instead, the crowds that packed the streets of south Mumbai carried only the Indian tricolour.

The accusations of "vote theft"

While the march was led by Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), it also drew heavy support from across the state's opposition. Senior figures from the Congress party and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) joined the rally.

Addressing the crowd, Raj Thackeray took a direct, rhyming swipe at the election chief, chanting: "Gyanesh kaka, dale vote pa daka" (Uncle Gyanesh, stealing our votes).

The rhetoric from other opposition leaders was equally sharp. Balasaheb Thorat, a senior Congress leader, said at the protest that Rahul Gandhi had long been raising alarms about "vote theft" by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with the assistance of the Election Commission of India. Thorat claimed that two of the country's election commissioners had recently "exposed the alleged irregularities" overseen by the chief election commissioner.

Shashikant Shinde, the state president of the NCP (SP), framed the protest as the beginning of a larger electoral battle. He declared that the BJP's "dictatorial rule" would meet its first major defeat in Maharashtra. Other prominent opposition leaders on the stage included former state home minister Anil Deshmukh and NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad.

A rare family alliance

The sight of Uddhav and Raj Thackeray leading a political rally together marks a significant shift in Maharashtra’s political dynamics. For years, the cousins were bitter rivals, competing for the legacy of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray after Raj split to form the MNS in 2006.

This march is only the third time they have made a joint public appearance since agreeing to put their differences aside. Their first shared platform was a protest against a government resolution that would have made Hindi compulsory in Maharashtra’s schools—a policy that was subsequently withdrawn. They united a second time to protest against the national NEET exam paper leak scandal.

The agitation against Gyanesh Kumar has been building in Mumbai over recent days. Just 48 hours before the Thackeray-led march, the Abhijit Dipke-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) held its own rally at Shivaji Park, demanding the election chief's resignation.