Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray jointly led a massive ‘United March’ in Mumbai on Sunday, July 26, 2026, in solidarity with students protesting against the NEET-UG paper leak and alleged police excesses during the agitation. The march began at the iconic Shivaji Park in Dadar and concluded at the Siddhivinayak Temple in Prabhadevi.

Addressing a joint press conference ahead of the march, the Thackeray cousins had announced that participants would carry only the Tricolour, with no political party flags allowed, underlining that the protest was meant to represent the collective anger of students and parents rather than any single political outfit. Congress leaders and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar were also invited to join the demonstration.

March Ties Into Larger Education Reform Demands

The march comes at a politically charged moment, a day after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned taking moral responsibility for the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak controversy. Raj Thackeray said the show of strength was meant to make the Centre understand the depth of public sentiment, while Uddhav Thackeray said the march would conclude with prayers at Siddhivinayak Temple seeking wisdom for the government.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which spearheaded the month-long student agitation at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, had made Pradhan’s resignation one of its core demands before calling off its protest following talks with Union Ministers J.P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh. The Thackeray-led march in Mumbai signals that the political aftershocks of the NEET-UG controversy continue to ripple across the country even as the Centre works on a tougher anti-paper-leak law with provisions for fast-track courts and stiffer penalties.