Nagpur: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday launched a sharp attack on Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray over their joint protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing the cousins of trying to revive their political fortunes after electoral setbacks.
Taking a dig at the Thackerays, Fadnavis likened them to characters from the 2008 Bollywood film Ghajini, whose protagonist suffers from severe memory loss, while questioning their criticism of the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Nagpur, Fadnavis said the Virat Garjana Morcha held in Mumbai was an attempt by the two leaders to regain lost political ground.
“The morcha was an attempt to find back their lost ground. Despite all the hype, the attendance at the march was thin,” he said.
Fadnavis then questioned the Thackerays’ attempt to link the SIR exercise and the present Election Commission leadership with the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections.
“They have become like ‘Ghajini’. 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 said.
“How can the SIR of 2026 and the person who became Chief Election Commissioner in 2025 affect the 2024 elections?” Fadnavis asked.
The remarks came hours after Uddhav and Raj Thackeray jointly led the protest in Mumbai against the Election Commission. The march began in south Mumbai and culminated near the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters.
The Thackeray cousins have demanded the removal or resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, alleging irregularities in the SIR of electoral rolls. Raj Thackeray also demanded that the SIR be scrapped and called for a return to paper ballots.
The protest brought together leaders from several opposition parties, including Congress leaders Balasaheb Thorat and Vijay Wadettiwar and NCP (SP) leaders Jayant Patil, Shashikant Shinde, Jitendra Awhad and Anil Deshmukh. However, some prominent opposition leaders stayed away from the demonstration.
The organisers sought to project the rally as a broader opposition movement rather than a party-specific protest. Party flags were barred, with participants instead asked to carry the national Tricolour.
Fadnavis, however, dismissed the political significance of the demonstration and said the protest was an expression of frustration following electoral reverses.
“They are blatantly speaking falsehoods, and when people have rejected them, they vent their frustration here on the Election Commission,” he said.
The exchange has added another political flashpoint to the continuing controversy over the SIR exercise and the functioning of the Election Commission in Maharashtra.
