It is up to people whether they want to support or ensure the defeat of candidates who do not believe in Maratha reservation, said Maratha Quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil. He took a U-turn on November 4, and withdrew from the polls, after announcing the list of constituencies from which he was fielding candidates. Among some speculations about the impact of this move, there is a discussion about whether this is a re-application of the Lok Sabha formula, and whether this will damage the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance given the political situation in the country. The country has changed since the Lok Sabha elections.
Over a year, Manoj Jarange Patil’s agitation in the poll arena has been tagged “Jarange Factor”, which has proved to be king in Jalna, Hingoli, Nanded, Beed, other Lok Sabha constituencies. For example- Congress candidate Vasant Chavan won from Nanded seat, while incumbent BJP MP, Prataprao Chikhalikar Patil lost. In the case of Beed, Mahayuti candidate Pankaja Munde lost and Maha Vikas candidate Aghadi Bajrang Sonawane won.
Sometimes Ms. Munde criticizes Jarange Patil, while Mr. Sonawane visits Mr. Patil and asks for his support.
Few factors are likely to make the same impact in the Assembly elections. Beed-based senior journalist Narendra Kankariya claims the Maratha vote is still in Jarange’s hands in at least 20 to 30 constituencies. The withdrawal from the election may have affected their bargaining power, but people are still waiting to get instructions from Rare on who to vote for.
28% of the country’s population is Maratha, said the State Backward Commission. “Je Patil Mhantil” (Whatever Manoj Jarange says, will do) sentiment has prevailed in the Maratha community in Jalna, Beed district.
He has not made his stand openly about supporting MVA or making Mahayuti feel the defeat. However, people claim the message is clear and does not require an official announcement. Even though he is now out of the election, Jarange Patil spoke about the “right karayakram” (to put him in line) of Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
In a conversation with him, in his village ‘Antrawali Sarati’, which is the center of Maratha agitation, Manoj Jarange Patil again accused the home minister of being the mastermind of not giving reservation. “Whoever forms the government, we will continue to fight until reservation is given,” he said.
Strongly defending his stance on reservation, the quota activist said, “If everyone can reserve, why not us? Our survival is in question, farmers like us are trapped in debt, and that’s why suicides are increasing. If there is no good price to produce, the farmer cannot pay the debt, and pay for the child’s education. He has to sell the land to pay the fee; there is no guarantee that he will get a job.
Reservation requests have been around for decades, what made you do this?
All individuals in the family are aware of the problem; pain and despair were evident. Your parents are poor, they do everything they can, but when nothing works, their disappointment grows. If you can relate that the community is also suffering the same hardship; want to be made to change, that’s how the movement takes shape. I’m doing this because my community is hurting, not because someone asked. I have been struggling for 22 years.
Why did you withdraw from the polls and have you thought about the consequences?
This is not a withdrawal. I just made the right decision at the right time. Smaller allies, including Dalits and Muslims, did not respond, realizing that competing in the name of a single caste was futile. Besides, politics is none of our business. When I asked people to contest, they took all the effort, now when I ask not to, they are looking for nominations. To check the effect of my decision, I visited three talukas of Beed and people came in equal numbers. Nothing has changed, the fight for reservation will remain the same.
You have left the voting decision to the public, don’t you think this will create confusion? What is your strategy to defeat the candidate?
I don’t want to lose the trust of my people. Today I say something, but those in power do not act, what will I do? All I want is reservation regardless of the party giving it. Also, there is no point in telling which alliance to support as the Maratha vote is used for free. Elected MLAs and MPs do nothing, so why waste energy supporting them? However, more will become clear with time.
If the equation of Maratha, Muslim, and Dalit doesn’t fit, have you explored other combinations, especially Maratha and Dhangar (One of the OBC sub-castes)?
People from OBC also visited and solved the problem. However, every society wants its citizens to grow and benefit. If they come together it’s fine, I have nothing against them. In fact, I use that word for political reasons, I am no longer in politics and I have nothing against it. I also aim to fight the reservation issue in other communities only after getting Maratha reservation. Whatever may be the “bholi bhavana” of the society or the valid arguments related to reservation, as human beings, we need to transcend caste dynamics to support them, because it is more about economics.
Many believe you are targeting Devendra Fadnavis and have a soft spot for Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. What do you think about this?
I am targeting Mr. Fadnavis because he is constantly failing and cheating us. We are asking them to free us from the loan trap, provide MSP, and give us reservation, but they are busy giving us unsustainable yojanas like ladki bahin, leaving behind important issues. Secondly, it doesn’t matter if Eknath Shinde is the CM, Fadnavis has formed the government, he is the owner and runs the show. They have canceled six Dhangar reservation certificates. So everyone becomes a Dhangar, a marginalized community, everyone will target them. He argued about not disrupting the OBC reservation, now he added 17 sub-castes. The space for Maratha reservation has been reduced. I will not call “Soft Corner” to Eknath Shinde. In the end, only the owner is valued, in this case Fadnavis. He controls everything in Maharashtra government. He gave the green sign, women were assaulted, and thousands of cases were pending against the youth. The community is angry about it.
In either case, will this decision affect your bargaining power or affect your goals?
With the support of the community, we have created a great momentum, so this decision will not harm our goals. If Mahayuti returns to power, we will continue our agitation with the same intensity. If MVA comes to power, we will make sure that he fulfills his vague promises and if he doesn’t, he too will suffer.
As mentioned, you will struggle to get reservations for the whole community, how can you do that?
Reservation for all, only some strong communities benefit from it and other small communities are left behind. 60% OBCs include Marathas, everyone fits this. The only difference is that we came in 1967 after Marathwada got independence from the Nizam’s rule. The confusion of documents with some having caste as Kunbi and some Marathas has created division and chaos among us.
Do you agree with Sharad Pawar’s 75% reservation limit suggestion?
We will see in the future.
Published – 09 November 2024 12:47 IST
