Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday told INDIA bloc leaders that the mood in the country is against the BJP government and urged all Opposition parties to jointly protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
Participating virtually in the INDIA bloc meeting held in New Delhi, Thackeray insisted Kumar, facing political heat from the Opposition over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, must either resign immediately or be sacked.
"The mood of the people in the country is against the (BJP) government. Parties are staging protests against the Election Commission separately. All Opposition parties must stage the protests together," a Shiv Sena (UBT) functionary quoted Thackeray as saying at the meeting.
The Congress, a key INDIA bloc party, staged a protest earlier this week against the CEC. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) wanted to stage a protest at Shivaji Park in Dadar in central Mumbai on October 2, but police denied permission for the stir.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will be staging a joint protest in Mumbai on October 4 over the SIR issue.
Uddhav Thackeray said there should be a re-election in states where polling has been held in the last few years, especially in West Bengal (April 2026), where the Trinamool Congress was ousted from power, and Maharashtra (November 2024), where the BJP-led coalition retained power.
Repolling in these states should be done through ballot papers, the former Maharashtra CM demanded at the meeting.
The INDIA bloc on Wednesday finalised a joint action plan over the SIR row, including holding rallies and 'save democracy marches', with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asserting that all parties agreed that elections should be held through ballot papers instead of EVMs.
On October 6, all Opposition MPs will march to the Election Commission office in Delhi.
The meeting, attended by leaders of as many as 19 political parties, lasted over three-and-a-half hours at the held at the Constitution Club in the national capital.
(With inputs from PTI)
