Oppn slams Mahayuti but steers clear of taking a stand on Jarange Patil’s demand

Thackeray said the Maratha community had been “used and deceived” in the past, and now that the Mahayuti is in power, their demands should be fulfilled. He specifically mentioned Jarange Patil, stating that he had been forced to protest in Mumbai to demand justice.

The Sena (UBT) chief criticised Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who took office in December 2024, and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who was the CM for the preceding two-and-a-half years. “Despite repeated assurances, Jarange Patil has not received justice. Only back-and-forth politics is happening. The government must act,” he said.

Thackeray also addressed questions about whether Marathas should be given OBC reservation. “Such questions should be asked of those who promised it (Shinde and Fadnavis). I may comment, but what will they do? The Marathas have been deceived so far… All responsibility lies with the government. I have already stated my position to Jarange Patil, but it is up to the government to act,” he said.

Referring to Shinde’s pledge at his Dussehra rally in 2023, where he promised reservation for the Maratha community, he said, “Those who had pledged to provide reservation have now retreated. There is currently infighting within the alliance. I have no role in granting this myself. The government must resolve this issue. Maratha people protesting during Ganeshotsav are here to demand justice, not to create disturbances.”

While opposition leaders from the Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP) have openly supported the strike by Jarange Patil and blamed the Mahayuti government for not resolving the issue, none of the parties or their leaders have taken a categorical stand on whether they accept his demand for quota within OBC or whether Marathas should be given reservation under OBC.

On Friday as soon as the hungerstrike began at Azad Maidan, NCP (SP) MP Bajrang Sonwane from Beed, NCP (SP) MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar from Beed and NCP MLA Prakash Solanke from Mazalgaon paid visits to Jarange Patil to express solidarity.

Sena UBT MP Omraje Nimbalkar, MLA Kailas Patil and former MLC Ambadas Danve too met Jarange Patil, supporting his stir.

“Jarange Patil has taken up the cause of poor and backward segments,” Kshirsagar said. Danve too echoed Kshirsagar along with Patil and supported reservation for Marathas; however, they were careful not to explicitly support reservation at the expense of OBC quota.

“The state government should have held discussions with Jarange Patil. Why did they allow such a situation to arise,” NCP (SP) MLA Jeetendra Awhad.

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