MUMBAI: Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, leaders of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), respectively, will lead a joint protest rally on Sunday demanding the removal of chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
The Congress and NCP (SP), allies of the Sena (UBT) in the opposition Maha Vikas Aghad (MVA), will support the agitation, which has become a national rallying point over alleged irregularities in the revision of the electoral rolls. This is the third time the Thackeray cousins – bitter rivals till recently – are joining forces after they buried the hatchet recently. They first jointly celebrated the withdrawal of the government resolution that sought to make Hindi compulsory in schools in Maharashtra. Next, they jointly protested the NEET paper leak. Now they are teaming up to demand the CEC’s removal. However, the timing of the rally will remain unchanged.
Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab said the route was changed on the request of the police. On Friday, Mumbaiites turned out in large numbers at Shivaji Park to demand Kumar’s resignation in a rally organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) led by Abhijit Dipke.
Party spokesperson Clyde Crasto confirmed that the party would participate, saying, “We have already issued a letter to support it. Unlike the protests over the NEET paper leak, demonstrations against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls have so far been fragmented, with different opposition parties organising separate programmes. The NCP (SP) has also extended its support to Sunday’s rally.
The party has arranged 325 private buses to transport supporters from across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), to attend Sunday’s rally, according to MNS sources. The CJP organised a protest at Shivaji Park on October 2, which was supported by a Sena (UBT) delegation.
Senior Congress leader Nana Patole also said his party will participate in the morcha. Raju Bidkar, senior inspector at the Azad Maidan police station, said police are yet to decide on whether or not to grant permission for Sunday’s rally. The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee held protests on Monday, followed by the Mumbai unit of the Congress on Tuesday.
