MUMBAI: The Thackeray cousins will lead a march on October 4 in the city against the Election Commission of India and its reported mishandling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The Sena (UBT) will also participate in the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)’s Mumbai protest on October 2. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Congress has announced statewide protests on Monday to demand Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s ouster.

Following an Indian Express report on how the other two Election Commissioners had objected to Gyanesh Kumar’s unilateral decisions in SIR but were stonewalled, the Thackeray cousins held a discussion on Saturday, following which MNS chief Raj Thackeray announced the agitation on his social media account.

‘The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Shiv Sena have organised a mass protest march… against the Election Commission led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, which seems to be acting as if it is a branch of the ruling party. This protest is against the gross deception of voters carried out under the guise of SIR,’ posted Raj Thackeray.

The MNS chief added that although his party and the Sena (UBT) were taking the lead, it was a “people’s march”. “We intend to reach out to all political parties to ensure that this becomes a collective voice for the entire political system and public rather than being limited to just one or two parties,” he said. “We earnestly appeal to the people of Maharashtra to participate in this march in large numbers.”

Significantly, the Sena (UBT) has also announced support to CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, who had announced nationwide protests if Kumar does not resign. ‘If Gyanesh doesn’t go, Mumbai will step out against Vote Chori from 2nd October in huge numbers,’ posted Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday.

The Maharashtra Congress said that the ECI had deleted 13 crore voters, of whom over three crore were from the state. “In the Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024, 47 lakh voters were added. These voters are now untraceable. The functioning of the Election Commission itself has come under serious scrutiny,” said the press release.

The CJP protests could be at Azad Maidan while the MNS-Sena (UBT) are likely to hold their rally at Shivaji Park.