Maharashtra Chief Minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis on Monday launched a verbal attack on Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) founder Raj Thackeray over their joint protest in Mumbai against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

Taking a satirical swipe at the cousins, CM Fadnavis likened them to ‘Ghajinis’ and dismissed their demonstration as an expression of frustration after being rejected by the voters of the state. He also questioned the basis of their criticism of Kumar and the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

CM raises questions on timing of SIR criticism

CM Fadnavis, while addressing reporters on the sidelines of a programme when he criticised the protest, described it as an attempt by the Opposition to regain lost political ground. He remarked, “The morcha was an attempt to find back their lost ground. Despite all the hype, the attendance at the march was thin.”

He then turned up the heat on the Thackeray cousins’ criticism of the CEC and the SIR exercise, saying, “They have become like ‘Ghajini’. So I want to remind these ‘Ghajinis’ that Gyanesh Kumar became Chief Election Commissioner in 2025, whereas elections in Maharashtra were held in 2024, and the SIR began in 2026.”

He then asked, “How can the SIR of 2026 and the person who became Chief Election Commissioner in 2025 affect the 2024 elections?”

Furthermore, CM Fadnavis accused the Opposition of levelling allegations against the Election Commission out of frustration following numerous electoral setbacks. He said, “When people have rejected them, they vent their frustration on the Election Commission,” adding that the ones making allegations should at least try to make their claims believable.

Uddhav-Raj Thackeray lead march in Mumbai against CEC

CM Fadnavis’ remarks came a day after Uddhav and Raj Thackeray jointly took helmed the ‘Virat Garjana Morcha’ in Mumbai, which kicked off from the Metro Cinema and moved towards the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters in the southern part of the city.

Leaders of the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) were also in attendance at the demonstration. The protestors demanded the immediate removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and sought the scrapping of the SIR exercise in Maharashtra.

Opposition targets EC

In recent weeks, both leaders have supported the intensifying protests by the Opposition against the Election Commission amid scrutiny over the nationwide SIR exercise and allegations of sizable-scale deletions of voters’ names.

However, the EC has denied any wrongdoing and has also defended the revision process, maintaining that it is aimed at removing eligible entries from electoral rolls. At Sunday’s rally in Mumbai, the Thackeray cousins demanded CEC Kumar’s resignation, cancellation of the SIR exercise and greater transparency in the electoral process.