Mumbai victory rally participants signal next target: Transport Minister over E20 policy

By: Snehal Mutha

An MNS worker raises slogans during a protest over the implementation of the 20% ethanol blending (E20) policy in petrol, at a petrol station in Thane. File | Photo Credit: PTI

On a rainy Sunday morning (July 26, 2026), Shubham Shyam, 32, held a dafali (traditional hand drum) and stood outside Mumbai’s iconic Shivaji Park, celebrating the resignation of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

“It is time to rest, reset, and then take down Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari,” he declared.

“We will party for two weeks, then we will play the sugarcane game,” Mr. Shyam added, hinting at criticism faced by Mr. Gadkari over the implementation of E20, or ethanol-blended petrol.

Mr. Shyam’s thoughts were echoed by other protesters. Aarsh, 25, a content writer, and Rohan, 19, a B.Tech student, both said, “E20 kills vehicles and people’s pockets.”

Rohan said: “Since 10th grade, I have seen fuel prices skyrocket, and now vehicle mileage is poor, and pure petrol is expensive. Why give us a cheaper E20 option? Make petrol cheaper.”

Rally Draws Thousands of Gen Z and Millennials

The protesters were participating in a victory rally called by Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray. Thousands of Gen Z and millennials gathered to celebrate the success of the protest spearheaded by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).

Slogans raised at the rally included:

• “Our right, keep it here”
• “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”
• “This country is ours, and we belong to this country”

Protesters also called for the resignations of Mr. Gadkari and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Political Leaders Address the Crowd

Mr. Uddhav Thackeray advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pay attention to the country, instead of engaging BJP Ministers and MPs to engineer defections.

“India has come together; caste, religion and every other divide is vanishing. It is no more BJP versus the Opposition, but BJP versus the country,” said Mr. Thackeray while addressing the protesters.

He appealed to the youth to keep the spark of resistance alive, saying: “Identify the blind devotees, record videos, and post them.”

Mr. Raj Thackeray expressed his gratitude to Mumbai and the Maharashtra Police, saying: “You are not like the Delhi Police. This is your victory.”

‘Shook the Mountain’

Standing next to a row of yellow barricades, animator Mansi Worlikar, 26, and her friends clutched a placard taking a dig at Mr. Modi, who in a recent Instagram video had called the youth his “friends.”

Ms. Worlikar said: “The victory feels personal, because we fought an impossible mountain and made the crack.”

For her friend, entertainment writer Urvashi More, 27, the rally was an eye-opener that she could have a political opinion and even voice it.

“Something in me has moved; I now know that my political opinion matters,” said Ms. More.

Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, also joined the victory party and said the youth of the country have chosen their path.

“However, the challenge is to make every issue a mass issue and not allow the government to confine it to a particular community, caste, or economic group,” he added.

‘Showing Up Does Matter’

The party atmosphere appeared complete with Bluetooth speakers belting out popular Hindi songs as Gen Z attendees swayed to the music. In one such group stood Tarini (23), who...