Maratha reservation leader Manoj Jarange Patil\.
Credit: DH Photo
Jalna: Ahead of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, Manoj Jarange-Patil, who has decided to field candidates across the state, is reaching out to Marathas, Muslims, Dalits and Tribals.
As far as Marathas, particularly the farmers and workers are concerned who standing with Patil. Besides, Patil has been demanding reservations for Muslims as well.
With regards to Dalits and Adivasis, Patil has decided not to field candidates in SC and ST reserved constituencies and support candidates who had been sympathetic to his cause of Maratha reservation.
Patil is fielding candidates across the state, albeit selectively with a multi-pronged strategy.
“To realise the dreams of Babasaheb Ambedkar, the Marathas, Muslims and Dalits would have to come together,” said Patil, who is watching every move of the ruling BJP-led Maha Yuti (NDA) and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (I.N.D.I.A.).
On the OBCs, he said, “People are spreading a lie…I am never against the OBCs, I am reaching out to them.”
Patil has been demanding reservation for Marathas as Kunbis in the OBC category. Though the OBCs are opposing the dilution of their quota, they are sympathetic to the cause of reservation for the Marathas.
The MMD factor is going to be important in eight Marathwada districts of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (earlier known as Aurangabad), Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Dharashiv (earlier known as Osmanabad), and Parbhani.
Besides, Patil also has influence in neighbouring districts of Buldhana in Vidarbha, Solapur in Western Maharashtra and Ahilyanagar (earlier known as Ahmednagar) in North Maharashtra.
“The younger generation very much supports Patil, and this is the general who is very active on mobile phone (social media). This comprises those who are in farming, earning daily wages and unemployed. They would fully support Manoj Dada,” said Somnath Sanavare, who runs a food-stall on the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna route.
“The Marathas and Kunbis are account for around 31.5 per cent of Maharashtra’s population while OBCs are over 52 per cent,” a senior political analyst said, adding that this is the reason Patil is also seeking support of the OBCs as well.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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