Why Oppn parties remain noncommittal on Jarange-Patil’s demand for Marathas’ inclusion in OBC quota’

NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar said on Saturday, “The Constitution should be amended to revise the reservation limit of 50 per cent to accommodate Maratha reservation.” He added that the Centre must take the initiative for this. He also cited the example of Tamil Nadu, which has surpassed the Supreme Court’s reservation ceiling by allowing 69 per cent reservation.

Pawar’s stand on Maratha reservation has been consistent from day one. He has always maintained that the Maratha reservation should be separate and independent. Coming from a leader of his stature, who understands the complexities of social engineering and caste dynamics, Pawar’s solution of widening the reservation appears pragmatic. But it has the potential to set a trend where similar demands may rise in other states also to extend reservation benefits to communities agitating for them for decades.

The Congress’s stand is also that the OBC quota should not be tinkered with. The party reckons that the inclusion of Marathas in the OBC quota would be detrimental to the state’s social structure. To placate one community, the party cannot afford to antagonise another community that is equally powerful but larger.

Senior Congress leader and former minister Balasaheb Thorat said, “The state government has to find a quick solution to address the agitation. We believe Marathas should get reservation. But the OBC quota should not be impacted.”

OBC leaders across party lines, both in the ruling and Opposition camps, have maintained that Marathas should get a separate quota. At an all-party meeting held in 2024, a resolution was adopted pitching for a separate quota for Marathas. It underlined that OBC reservation should not be compromised at any cost.

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, who spoke to Jarange-Patil on the phone on Saturday, pledged support for his agitation. He said, “I am amazed at the large number of Marathi Manoos participating in the agitation..Our party supports your cause.” He has also directed his party leaders to provide all help in terms of logistics and food to protesters who have arrived from various parts of the state. Yet, the former chief minister refused to support the demand for providing Maratha reservation under the OBC quota.

“Why are you asking me? Ask those who gave the promise?” Thackeray said in reply to reporters’ questions, referring to Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who took a pledge in 2024 as chief minister in front of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue that he would address the Maratha reservation issue.

Raj Thackeray’s appeal to Marathas

The Opposition parties’ ambiguity is not without reason. All three MVA parties know they can’t bank on only one community. Any move unfavourable to OBCs can adversely impact their standing in the state in the long run. Moreover, each party has sizeable support among the OBC.

However, one Opposition voice has emerged loud and clear—that of MNS president Raj Thackeray. In a candid admission, he said, ” I had categorically said in the past it would not be possible to give Maratha reservation within the OBC quota. Nobody can do it. All those making promises were just misleading the Marathas. And they should realise the facts at the earliest.”

Mahayuti parties’ shared views

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that the Marathas already have 10 per cent reservation under the Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) Act. “The question of Maratha reservation within the OBC quota is ruled out completely. The OBC quota cannot be diluted,” he said. “We don’t want to pit one community against another. The state’s welfare is above politics.”

Nevertheless, Jarange-Patil has declared he will not withdraw his indefinite hunger strike if the demand for the inclusion of Marathas in the OBC quota is not accepted. He has also warned that the Government should immediately declare all Marathas from Marathwada are Kunbis so that they can avail of OBC reservation. Marathas as per the Hyderabad and Sarata gazettes should also get Kunbi certificates, he said, adding that Marathas should then be empowered with Kunbi certificates based on proofs from the Aundh and Bombay gazettes.

In 2024, the Mahayuti Government led by Eknath Shinde accepted the demand to issue Kunbi certificates to Marathas subject to verification and documentary evidence. The Government had also issued a draft notification extending the scope to “sage soyre” (blood relations). However, both decisions were placed before the Justice Sandeep Shinde Committee, which has been given a six-month extension to address these issues.

In February 2024, the Eknath Shinde-led Government brought in legislation providing for 10 per cent Maratha reservation under the SEBC Act. The measure was unanimously passed in the state legislature. Though the legislation has been challenged, the Bombay High Court has not stayed it.

Despite these initiatives, Shinde, now a deputy chief minister, has also made it clear, “Marathas cannot get reservation within the OBC quota. We are committed to their welfare and a separate quota.”