Raj Thackeray vows mass movement against Election Commission, next fight on EVMs

What my party and I have been saying about the Election Commission's functioning for a long time has now become clear, MNS chief Raj Thackeray said. He alleged that by taking control of the Commission and manipulating the SIR and the voter list, the BJP's election wins have now been exposed.

According to Raj Thackeray, the Chief Election Commissioner must resign, but along with that, the government that was elected with the help of this lifeless Election Commission should also resign. He said he was making this demand himself.

Thackeray appealed to all opposition parties to come together and build a fight against the Election Commission's functioning. According to him, the first fight is against the Commission's functioning, after which a fight should be built against EVMs. He said opposition parties should launch a mass movement to have elections held on ballot paper instead of EVMs. He also wrote in a social media post that the coming fight will be against EVMs.

Meanwhile, ahead of the municipal corporation elections due at the end of 2025, opposition leaders in Maharashtra had been meeting the state's Chief Election Commissioner and his colleagues. At that time, Thackeray said, they felt these officials actually had no real authority, and they said so publicly several times. He said two election commissioners repeatedly raised objections, but the Commission continued with its process regardless. Because of this, it appears that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was the one taking the decisions, but Thackeray said there should be an investigation into who was actually getting him to take these decisions.

Raj Thackeray repeated his demand that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar should resign, and that there should be an investigation into who was behind his decisions. Raising the issue of the Election Commission's autonomy, Thackeray also targeted the ruling government at the Centre, demanding that the government elected with the help of this lifeless Election Commission should also resign.

BJP-supporting journalists often ask where the votes go if his rallies draw crowds. Taking a dig, Raj Thackeray said they now have their answer to who steals their votes, and how and from whom they get help doing it.