Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange-Patil.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Jalna: Quota Activist Manoj Jarange on Sunday announced that he will field Maratha candidates for the Maharashtra assembly elections in constituencies where the community has a strong presence.
The Maratha reservation campaigner's announcement on Sunday has rattled the Maha Yuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi coalitions as the so-far apolitical Maratha agitation turned political.
“Personally I will not contest the polls. I have the huge responsibility of keeping the campaign alive and running till we get the reservation as desired,” Jarange-Patil said in Antarwali Sarathi in Ambad tehsil of Jalna district.
“We will field candidates where we can win…keep your forms ready…I will study the equations…in case I ask you to withdraw, you must withdraw,” he said.
Jarange-Patil said that his supporters would not contest the reserved seats of SCs and STs and support the candidates who are sympathetic to the quota demand.
“We have two options…to contest polls or to defeat others (who are against our case)…the best option is to contest selectively and hence field candidates where we can win,” he said.
In constituencies where the Maratha community is unlikely to secure a win, his group will support candidates regardless of party, caste, or religion as long as they commit to backing the reservation demand, he said.
Elections to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly will be held on November 20, and votes will be counted on November 23.
The activist also accused Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of undermining the Maratha reservation movement and appealed to the community to rally behind the quota demand under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category and to give him the mandate to continue the fight for their rights.
Jarange has been demanding reservations for Marathas under the OBC category, along with the enforcement of draft notifications from the Hyderabad, Bombay, and Satara gazettes, which declared the Maratha community as Kunbi, an agrarian group eligible for reservations and benefits under the OBC category.