Uddhav Thackeray Demands CEC Gyanesh Kumar's Removal and Jail, Fresh Polls in Three States

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday demanded the removal and imprisonment of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and called for fresh elections in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Addressing a press conference at his Mumbai residence, Matoshree, he also urged that all future elections be conducted using ballot papers.

Mr. Thackeray said every decision taken by the Election Commission during Mr. Kumar's tenure should be revoked, and that polls in which the Commissioner had intervened should be held again. He appealed to opposition parties to unite, describing the effort as necessary to protect democracy.

He accused Mr. Kumar of acting on the directions of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and alleged that the Commissioner had "murdered democracy." Referring to reports of differences between the two Election Commissioners and the Chief Election Commissioner, Mr. Thackeray thanked Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, calling their stand a rebellion and noting that they now command a majority.

The Election Commission has rejected the reports, stating that inputs recorded at the draft stage should not be treated as final decisions.

Mr. Thackeray further alleged that the Commission had allotted the Shiv Sena name and symbol to a rival faction, and claimed that about 40 lakh voter names were added to electoral rolls before elections and removed afterwards. He alleged that 90 lakh names were deleted in West Bengal and 70 lakh in Tamil Nadu during the Special Intensive Revision exercise, and that 45 lakh voters were added in Maharashtra ahead of the 2024 assembly elections, with objections now raised against 40 lakh citizens on the rolls.

Warning of consequences if no action is taken against Mr. Kumar, he said people could take matters into their own hands, and that a loss of faith in the electoral process would lead to anarchy in the country.