Joint protest in Mumbai on October 4 to focus on SIR electoral-roll revision and demand Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation
Mumbai, Oct 2026 : Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray will jointly lead a protest march in Mumbai on Sunday, October 4, against the Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The march, titled ‘Garjana’, is being organised amid continuing political criticism of the SIR exercise. The Thackeray-led parties have demanded Kumar’s resignation and raised concerns over the electoral-roll revision process. The organisers have also invited other Opposition parties and citizens to participate in the demonstration.
Ahead of the march, Raj Thackeray has scheduled a meeting with MNS leaders and office-bearers at Shiv Teerth on Saturday at 11 a.m. The meeting is expected to focus on preparations for the protest and coordination among party functionaries.
The route of the march has also been changed following a request from the Mumbai Police. It will now begin at Metro Cinema and proceed towards the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters. The earlier plan was to start the march from the Richardson & Cruddas premises in Byculla. The change was made after consultations with the police over security and traffic-management considerations.
Participants are expected to begin assembling around 10 a.m. The march will proceed towards the BMC headquarters, where it is scheduled to conclude with a public meeting. Leaders participating in the protest are expected to address the gathering.
The organisers have said political party flags will not be carried during the march. Instead, participants have been asked to carry only the national flag. Raj and Uddhav Thackeray have also appealed to citizens and supporters across political affiliations to join the protest. Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) have announced their participation.
The Thackeray brothers have said the protest is focused on the functioning of the Election Commission and concerns surrounding the SIR process rather than being directed against any single political party. Raj Thackeray has also questioned the response of the Bharatiya Janata Party to criticism of the poll panel.
The march follows a separate protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on Friday, where demonstrators demanded Kumar’s resignation over the SIR exercise. Similar demonstrations have also taken place in other cities, including Delhi, amid political debate over electoral-roll revisions.
The Thackeray brothers had announced their joint march after discussions on the SIR exercise and subsequently sought the participation of other Opposition parties. The initiative has brought the MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT) together for a joint mobilisation in Mumbai.
Mumbai Police are expected to deploy security personnel along the revised route and implement traffic-management measures to regulate movement during the march. Emergency access and crowd-management arrangements are also expected to form part of the security plan.
The October 4 demonstration comes amid a wider political campaign over the Election Commission’s handling of electoral-roll revision. While the organisers have raised concerns about the SIR process and sought Kumar’s resignation, the Election Commission’s role and decisions remain at the centre of the ongoing political debate.
The ‘Garjana’ march is expected to conclude with speeches by participating leaders at the BMC headquarters, with organisers seeking to highlight their concerns over electoral-roll revision and the functioning of the poll panel.
