Why Thackerays Are Marching Without Party Flags Against Gyanesh Kumar’s ECI in Mumbai

The Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) took their protest against the Election Commission of India (ECI) to the streets of Mumbai on Sunday, with a clear demand:

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar should resign. Led by cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray, the joint rally began at Richardson & Cruddas in Byculla and moved towards the BMC headquarters at CSMT. In a significant departure from conventional party protests, neither the Shiv Sena (UBT) nor the MNS displayed its flag or election symbol. Instead, supporters were asked to carry only the Tricolour.

The decision was deliberate. By keeping their party identities in the background, the two regional parties are attempting to turn the protest into a broader campaign centred on the functioning of the ECI rather than their individual political interests.

The immediate trigger is the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The exercise, which began in Bihar in June 2025, has resulted in more than 13 crore names being excluded from draft electoral rolls across 30 states and Union Territories. Millions of voters have also received notices seeking documents to establish their eligibility to remain on the rolls.

In Maharashtra, the August 31 draft electoral roll excluded around 2.07 crore voters whose enumeration forms had not been collected, while another 1.22 crore electors have reportedly been served notices. Opposition parties, led by the Congress, have described the exercise as “vote theft”.

Questions have also emerged within the ECI itself. An investigation by The Indian Express reported last month that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over a 10-month period to decisions taken in the Commission’s name without their knowledge. The issues reportedly included the form used by new voters, electoral-roll software and appeals concerning restored voters in West Bengal.

The objections were also brought to the attention of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. The Commission initially described the notes as “suggestions”, but subsequently took decisions on several issues and later announced a special drive across 20 states to restore voters who had been left out of electoral rolls.

Raj Thackeray said the decision to keep party flags away was intended to make the protest open to everyone.

“No individual flags. Only Tricolour. The agenda is only ECI and its working. Therefore, anybody including BJP can come and join the rally on the issue,” Raj said.

The approach echoes the recent protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical youth movement launched online in May by political communications strategist Abhijit Dipke. Dipke had asked participants at the CJP’s Shivaji Park protest to carry only the Tricolour. Uddhav Thackeray had also extended support to that demonstration.

Uddhav said the objective was to bring together different voices around a common issue.

“Everybody is trying to raise the issue in their own way. But the agenda is one,” he said.

The NCP (SP) has also backed the rally. Its working president Supriya Sule said the party was supporting the joint Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS protest.

A dispute rooted in the Shiv Sena split

For Uddhav Thackeray, the confrontation with the ECI also has a deeper political history.

In June 2022, Eknath Shinde led a rebellion that split the Shiv Sena, the party founded by Uddhav’s father, Bal Thackeray. In February 2023, the ECI awarded the Shiv Sena name and its bow-and-arrow symbol to the Shinde faction.

Uddhav had strongly criticised the Commission’s decision. The loss of the party name and its original symbol became a defining setback for the Shiv Sena (UBT), which subsequently contested the 2024 elections using the “mashal” symbol.

A Shiv Sena (UBT) insider said the party’s concerns over the ECI therefore predate the current controversy surrounding SIR.

“ECI has been one topic on which all national and regional parties have been raising questions. Our reasons may vary. The Shiv Sena split was a body blow for Uddhav Thackeray even before SIR mismanagement. The ECI awarding the original title and symbol to rebel deputy CM Eknath Shinde faction was a devastating development. We overcame that and contested 2024 elections on the new symbol ‘mashal’,” the insider said.

While the Congress and the CJP have focused on allegations of “vote theft” and mass deletions from electoral rolls, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has its own longstanding grievance with the Commission over the party split.

A common cause for the Thackerays

The joint protest also comes as Uddhav and Raj Thackeray seek to consolidate their respective political bases. With the next Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections not scheduled until 2029, the immediate electoral impact of the campaign remains difficult to assess.

For now, however, the ECI issue provides the estranged cousins with a common platform. By keeping their party flags aside, Uddhav and Raj can present the protest as a broader institutional campaign, potentially bringing together supporters beyond their respective political organisations.

The strategy also allows the two parties to temporarily put aside their differences within the broader opposition space and speak with one voice on an issue they believe can resonate with a wider section of voters.