Fadnavis likens Thackeray cousins to 'Ghajini' over Mumbai march against Chief Election Commissioner

Nagpur: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday launched a sharp attack on Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray. The two had together led a march in Mumbai against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Fadnavis alleged that after electoral setbacks, the two cousins were trying to regain their political ground.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event in Nagpur, Fadnavis said the Virat Garjana Morcha held in Mumbai was an attempt by the two leaders to win back lost political ground. "The march was an attempt to find their lost ground. Despite making so much noise, the turnout at the march was thin," he said.

Fadnavis compared the Thackeray cousins to the character in the 2008 Bollywood film Ghajini, whose hero suffers from a serious loss of memory. He made the remark in response to a question on the Election Commission's criticism over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Fadnavis also questioned the Thackeray cousins' attempt to link the SIR and the current Election Commission leadership to the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election. "These people have become 'Ghajini'. I want to remind these 'Ghajinis' that Gyanesh Kumar became Chief Election Commissioner in 2025, while the elections in Maharashtra were held in 2024 and the SIR began in 2026," he said.

Fadnavis asked, "How can the SIR of 2026 and a person who became Chief Election Commissioner in 2025 affect the 2024 election?"

His remarks came a few hours after the joint march in Mumbai led by Uddhav and Raj Thackeray. The march began in south Mumbai and ended near the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters.

The Thackeray cousins have demanded the removal or resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. They allege irregularities in the SIR of the electoral rolls. Raj Thackeray also demanded that the SIR be scrapped and that voting return to paper ballots.

Leaders of several Opposition parties joined the march. Balasaheb Thorat and Vijay Wadettiwar represented the Congress, while Jayant Patil, Shashikant Shinde, Jitendra Awhad and Anil Deshmukh came from the NCP (SP). Some prominent Opposition leaders, however, stayed away.

The organisers tried to present the rally as a broad Opposition movement rather than that of a single party. Party flags were barred and people were asked to bring the national tricolour.

Fadnavis dismissed the political significance of the march. He said it was an expression of frustration after electoral defeat. "They are lying openly, and having been rejected by the people, they are venting their frustration on the Election Commission," he said.

The exchange adds another political clash to the ongoing dispute in Maharashtra over the SIR and the functioning of the Election Commission.