The Elgar rally against Maratha quota reservation drew the limelight for the remarks made by Maharashtra Maharashtra Civil Supplies Minister and senior OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal. But its reverberations might be much wider. The OBC and Vimukt Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT) rally was perhaps the first such move to bring together all 374 OBC communities under one umbrella, where leaders across parties, including those from the ruling BJP, demanded a caste census across the country. The BJP government at the Centre has hedged its bets on calls for a caste census as the Opposition has made it a poll issue. With the Marathas too showing no sign of relenting on their demand for reservation, especially due to their new torchbearer Manoj Jarange-Patil, the rally could rattle the tenuous truce achieved by the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government on the matter. Other speakers at the rally, besides Bhujbal, were also strident. “The one who speaks in the interest of OBCs will rule the country,” said Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar. Former minister and Rashtriya Samaj Party (RSP) leader Mahadev Jankar called for all OBCs to come together and float a party of their own, instead of depending on leaders of other parties. The next plan of several OBC organisations is to hold a rally in every district of the state. With Jarange-Patil insisting that his deadline for the government to implement reservation for Marathas is non-negotiable, the meetings are likely to stir up OBCs fear that bringing Marathas into the OBC category will reduce their share of reservation. The OBC leaders have been demanding that any such quota should be separate from OBC share. The rally would also have been worrying for the BJP, which is seen to enjoy the support of the OBCs in various pockets of the state. The community is not happy with the assurance given by its state government to provide Kunbi, and hence OBC, certificates to the Marathas as a way out. Earlier, the party had undertaken an OBC yatra in the Vidarbha region of the state as a damage control exercise. The Congress too has been trying to keep the OBCs in good stead as its state chief, Nana Patole, and Wadettiwar both hail from OBC communities. For Bhujbal, it is a win-win, as he was lauded by all OBC leaders for taking the lead against the Maratha protesters. The minister urging OBCs to reply in the same vein in case Marathas resort to violence is likely to have a long-lasting impact on state politics. It has also brought to the fore the divide between the communities. Bhujbal, who had receded into the background for a while after his arrest, appears to be trying to emerge as the tallest OBC leader in the state. He is also trying to forge a new social equation with his claims that he has the support of Dalits, Muslims and tribals. The minister’s attack on his own government has seen some demands for his expulsion from the Cabinet. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Ambadas Danve condemned Bhujbal’s language and questioned how he was still a part of the Cabinet. The government's hands though are tied as any hasty move on Maratha quota could run into a court wall. In 2021, the Supreme Court had struck down reservation granted to Marathas by the earlier BJP-Shiv Sena government, deeming it unconstitutional as it breached the 50% ceiling for reservation. The Maratha agitation has gained fresh push since Jarange-Patil resumed his indefinite hunger strike, rejecting the government’s proposal of giving Kunbi certificates to Marathas of Marathwada region only. The state government subsequently agreed to provide Kunbi certificates to all Marathas across the state, which in turn drew an OBC counter-response.
