Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray led a joint march in Mumbai on Sunday to greet thousands of supporters [1].
The event marks a rare public alignment between the Thackeray cousins, signaling a unified political front against the central government's handling of national education standards.
The gathering began as a protest against the NEET-UG paper leak and the subsequent police crackdown on student demonstrators [3]. However, the atmosphere shifted from a protest into a victory march following the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan [1].
Reports on the exact location of the event differ. Some accounts place the rally in Dadar [1], while other reports indicate it took place at Shivaji Park [2]. Security was tightened across the city to manage the crowds as the leaders sought to celebrate what they described as youth power [2].
Thousands of supporters attended the march [1]. The joint action follows an announcement that the protest would occur on July 26 [3]. While the march was initially planned to demand accountability for the exam leaks, the departure of the education minister transformed the event into a celebration of a political win [1].
The cousins focused their message on the struggle of students and the necessity of fair testing processes. They used the platform to highlight the impact of the leak on aspiring medical students across the U.S. [3].
“Thousands of supporters attended the march”
The joint appearance of Uddhav and Raj Thackeray suggests a strategic consolidation of the Maratha vote and a shared opposition to the current administration's educational policies. By pivoting from a protest to a victory march, the leaders have successfully linked the resignation of a federal minister to their own local political mobilization, amplifying their influence over the youth demographic in Maharashtra.
