MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray have announced a joint protest march against Election Commission in Mumbai on Sunday, October 4. The two cousins held a press conference at Shivtirth, Raj Thackeray's residence, and invited all political parties to join the morcha.
The march will start from Byculla and go towards Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters, where the leaders will address the crowd. Raj Thackeray said he will speak in detail about his concerns on electronic voting machines, an issue he has been raising since 2017-18.
Criticism Over Electoral Roll Changes
The protest comes during growing criticism from several Opposition parties over how Election Commission handled the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Reports say Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised internal objections at least 14 times over a 10-month period on decisions about electoral rolls and voter registration. Election Commission has said all decisions were unanimous and approved by all three members.
Uddhav Thackeray gave full support to the protest, saying all those who fight to save democracy will have their backing. Both leaders asked their party workers to carry the Indian national flag instead of party flags during the march. Sanjay Raut, Aaditya Thackeray, Avinash Jadhav and Sandeep Deshpande were also present at the press conference.