At the entrance to this village in central Maharashtra's Jalna district, a pandal has been standing now for seven months. In the middle of it is a prominent bronze bust of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj; behind it, a board that says 'Amaran Uposhan (Fast Unto Death)' with a date: 29 But to villagers in these parts, and politicians seeking their votes in the climbing heat, the tent is a stark reminder – of the 17 days of protest held here by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil; and of the disquiet over a half-met promise. Days to go for voting on April 26, no politician has come calling to the village. In the afternoon, village children use the pandal as a welcome, shaded playground. But every night, it transforms into Ground Zero of the reservation agitation as villagers, young and old, gather and keep spirits up singing devotional songs. Jarange Patil is not in Antarwali Sarathi, his native village, and there is talk that he is touring the state, campaigning against the BJP, whose Mahayuti government managed to buy peace with the passage of a Bill granting 10% reservation in education and jobs to the Maratha community. However, no one in the village, with about 25-30% of the population Marathas, seems to clearly know Jarange Patil's whereabouts. In his absence, Shivaji Savram Tarak says, the pandal will do. "Our demand for reservation and our protest are not over. Due to the code of conduct (for the polls), we have kept them aside. A mammoth rally is planned on June 8 in the neighbourhood." At the same time, the villagers insist, their protest or Jarange Patil's is not linked to the elections. And that no directive has been issued regarding how the villagers should vote. The non-Marathas in Antarwali Sarathi attest to this. "We live in harmony. We recently celebrated Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti and Shivaji Jayanti with the same zeal," says Laxman Bodhe, pointing to the blue and saffron flags still fluttering across the village as proof. At the same time, they prefer to skirt the reservation subject. “It is a matter best left to leaders who are well-versed in these subjects,” says Appa Chabuskwar. Among the others, the desire for a quota and apprehension of a delay remain palpable. Ask him about the Eknath Shinde government's 10% quota, and Tarak shrugs: "Tikat naahi (It will not stand in court).” The Maratha quota, adopted through the Socially and Educationally Backward Class Act, takes the total reservation past the 50% ceiling, a wall which it has hit earlier too in courts. The Bombay High Court is hearing a bunch of PILs against the latest move. The quota talk overwhelms all conversation regarding the coming Lok Sabha elections, including in Parbhani – under which the village falls. It is one of the eight Lok Sabha seats in the Marathwada region. In 2014 and 2019, Parbhani was won by the undivided Shiv Sena's Sanjay alias Bandu Jadhav, who is now the Sena (UBT) candidate. Of the other seven Marathwada seats, the BJP had won four (Beed, Latur, Jalna, Nanded) in 2019, the united Sena two others (Hingoli, Osmanabad) and the AIMIM one (Aurangabad). While Parbhani, Hingoli and Nanded vote on April 26, Osmanada and Latur will see polling on May 7, and Beed, Jalna and Aurangabad on May 13. Kalyan Lahu Chabuksaur, a sugarcane farm worker with time on his hands till the onset of monsoon, says the quota issue will be decisive. "Parbhani will see a battle between Jadhav, and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP) leader Mahadev Jankar,” he says. "Some feel Jankar is an outsider. But he is a good man." Crucially, while Jadhav is a Maratha, Jankar is a Dhangar (an OBC). He is a candidate of the BJP-led NDA, with the RSP joining the coalition a month ago, in a blow to NCP supremo Sharad Pawar. Many see Pawar as having had a hand in the spread and scale of the Maratha quota protests. Meanwhile, this has pitted the Marathas against the OBCs, as the latter fear that the benefits to the Marathas will come at their expense. Some others like Sadashiv Sitaram Ambilvadi also back Jankar, though for a different reason. “I will support the candidate who will be the best for the Centre. And it is (Narendra) Modi." On the other side, what weighs in favour of Jadhav for many is that he is among the few Sena MPs who did not leave Uddhav Thackeray's side in the Sena revolt. According to Tarak, many like him may even vote for Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) candidate Panjab Uttam Dak, who happens to be a weather expert and a political novice. “Why not? What has Modi done for us Marathas?” he asks. The VBA was engaged in long-drawn but ultimately unfruitful talks with the Maha Vikas Aghadi of the Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Congress. It hasn't escaped the villagers that politicians, many of whom had been at the receiving end of Maratha anger during the protests, but also made a beeline to convince Jarange Patil to give up his fast, speed past Antarwali Sarathi these days. In the absence of any other message, the village is hanging on Jarange Patil's words. "Whatever he decides, we will follow. We know he will never backtrack from his stated position,” says one of them. An OBC villager who does not want to be named says they are watching the situation closely. “We understand their concerns, but one must keep in mind, 'Tute parant tanu naye (Don't stretch things to breaking point)',” he says. BJP leaders admit that Parbhani, if not the entire Marathwada, is tough for the party, though the rally held by Prime Minister Modi on March 20 is said to have “helped change the atmosphere”. For the Mahayuti alliance of the BJP, Shinde Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP, it is clearly a prestige battle. Ajit Pawar's NCP has also come around despite laying claim to the Parbhani seat earlier, for fear of antagonising the Dhangar community in opposing Jankar. The Dhangars are very important in the Baramati seat, where Ajit's wife Sunetra is engaged in a high-stakes battle against Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule. But the Sena (UBT) is hoping the anger against the Shinde government over the Maratha quota protest means Jadhav will get through again.
