Thackerays lead Mumbai protest over electoral roll revision

Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray led a protest march in Mumbai on October 4, joined by opposition-party leaders, to object to Maharashtra’s revision of electoral rolls and demand action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The protesters called for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) to be scrapped and for Kumar to be removed or resign. Their allegations of irregularities have not been independently established in the available accounts. The Virat Garjana Morcha began at Metro Cinema and proceeded toward the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters. Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leaders took part. Organisers asked participants to carry the national tricolour and prohibited party flags, according to reports of the march. Raj Thackeray called for Maharashtra’s SIR to be cancelled and said elections should use paper ballots rather than electronic voting machines. He also questioned the number of electors missing from the draft roll. Uddhav Thackeray accused Kumar of acting in the BJP’s interests, an allegation not substantiated by evidence in the reports.