On the back foot after poor LS show, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi shifts stance, announces ‘save reservation’ rally

“The growing animosity between Marathas and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) over the reservation issue has raised an alarm. Our attempt is to reassure and fight for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) and OBC reservation. We want to convey the message that reservation to SC/STs and OBCs should remain intact and undiluted,” Ambedkar said.

“Several OBC outfits have approached us. They want VBA to take the lead to safeguard the rights of SC/STs and OBCs,” he added.

At present, reservation in Maharashtra stands at 62 per cent – 13 per cent for SCs, 8 per cent for STs, 19 per cent for OBCs, 2 per cent for Special Backward Class (SBC), 2 per cent for Vimukta Jati, 2.5 per cent for Nomadic Tribe, 3.5 per for Nomadic Tribe (C) Dhangar, and 2 per cent for Nomadic Tribe (D), along with 10 per for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).

In February 2024, the government announced a 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the Maharashtra State Reservation For Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act but it has been challenged in court.

The stated objective of the VBA’s Arakshan Bachao rally is to gain a greater foothold amongst the SC, ST and OBC groups. The rally will begin from Chaitya Bhoomi in Dadar – a venue where lakhs of Ambedkarites pay respects to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on his death anniversary on December 6 every year – in Mumbai on July 25.

“On July 26, we will offer tribute to Shahu Maharaj at Kolhapur. The date July 26 is significant as it was on this day that the great reformist and Kolhapur ruler Shahu Maharaj had first announced reservation to the oppressed and backwards,” Ambedkar explained.

The rally will cover several districts, including Kolhapur, Sangli, Solapur, Latur, Nanded, Yavatmal, Amravati, Akola, Buldhana, Jalna and Sambhajinagar, Prakash Ambedkar said.

Expressing disappointment over the polarisation between Marathas and OBCs, he said, “The state government had recently convened an all-party meeting to discuss the issue. But Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) boycotted the same.”

“Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil has sought reservation for Marathas under the OBC category. We would like the Opposition to clarify whether they support this stand or oppose it. Similarly, the state government also has to put an end to ambiguity,” he added.

Saying that the VBA was not against the Maratha quota, Ambedkar said, “We do not want inclusion of Marathas within OBCs. Their quota should remain untouched.”

“The politically and economically rich established Marathas are exploiting the poor Marathas. The poor Marathas should see the larger design and make common cause with SC/STs and OBCs. They should not work at cross purposes,” he added.

In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the VBA saw its sizeable Dalit, Muslim and OBC electoral base shift to the Congress in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). With the party failing to win a single seat and polling just 15 lakh votes in more than 35 out of the 48 constituencies it contested, the Assembly polls, with 288 seats, remain a bigger challenge for Ambedkar.

In the early 1990s, Ambedkar had focussed on Dalits. In the mid-1990s, he expanded his base by reaching out to OBCs. In 2019, he tried to expand his constituents by reaching out to Muslims through a short-lived alliance with All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).

Following the Maratha agitation last year, the VBA tried to exploit the rich and poor divide within the community to gain a foothold but failed as Marathas upset with the BJP chose the MVA as their alternative.

With Assembly polls ahead, Ambedkar is hoping that his bid to consolidate communities will work in the VBA’s favour.