Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday demanded the immediate scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Maharashtra and a return to paper ballots for all future elections, accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of undermining electoral transparency.
“A Special Intensive Revision can only be conducted under exceptional circumstances, such as natural disasters, floods, earthquakes, or massive population displacement, and even then, only for specific constituencies with written justifications,” Raj Thackeray said. Addressing the opposition-led ‘Garjana Morcha’ in Mumbai, Raj Thackeray issued a strong call for action against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, demanding accountability over alleged irregularities in voter lists and the conduct of elections. The march, which began at Metro Cinema and proceeded towards the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters in South Mumbai, brought together MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, along with leaders and workers from the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), Left parties and the Peasants and Workers Party. Thousands of demonstrators took part in the protest, carrying the Tricolour instead of party flags. The rally called for an end to the SIR exercise, a return to paper ballots and the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
Raj Thackeray said he had been raising concerns about EVMs and voter list discrepancies since 2017-18.
This will ensure complete transparency, doodh ka doodh, paani ka paani,” he said. He said he had previously suggested that opposition parties consider a united boycott of elections to force greater transparency in the electoral process. “I have only two demands. First, the SIR conducted in Maharashtra must be scrapped. Second, all future elections must be conducted on ballot papers. He recalled meeting senior opposition leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar, to discuss the issues. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray also criticised the BJP-led government at the Centre, accusing it of gaining control over institutions and engineering splits within political parties.
