Thackeray cousins lead Mumbai rally demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation

Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena jointly organized a protest march in Mumbai aimed at forcing chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The rally, dubbed the “Virat Garjana Morcha,” began at Metro Cinema and moved a short distance to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters, with participants allowed only to display the Indian national flag.

Opposition figures from the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) - including state president Shashikant Shinde, leader Anil Deshmukh, MLA Jitendra Awhad, and PWP leader Jayant Patil - joined the demonstration. A prior gathering at Shivaji Park, organized by Abhijit Dipke’s Cockroach Janta Party, had also called for the CEC’s removal. This protest is the third joint appearance of the Thackeray cousins, following their collaboration on a Hindi-in-schools issue and a protest against a NEET paper leak. The march underscores mounting political pressure on the election commission ahead of upcoming polls.