Why Maha politicians are courting Jarange ahead of polls

The poll aspirants who feel threatened are seeking to garner sympathy from their voters by meeting influential leaders like Jarange in the Marathwada region.

Alarmed by the consolidation of Maratha votes, a factor believed to have dented established political parties in Marathwada region of Maharashtra in Lok Sabha polls, leaders of all hues are trying to mend fences with quota activist Manoj Jarange.

Jarange, who wields considerable influence on the Maratha community, may either field candidates in next month's Maharashtra assembly elections or choose to damage the prospects of those leaders who he thinks are anti-reservation.

On Wednesday, a day after the poll schedule was announced by the Election Commission, Jarange said that interviews of poll aspirants would be conducted on Thursday.

Several leaders and poll aspirants across party lines have met Jarange in the recent past, with many even lending support to his agitation.

Political analysts believe that the reason is the altered political landscape in Maharashtra following splits in two major parties- Shiv Sena and NCP, which diminished the chance to get tickets.

"With the BJP-led NDA and Congress-led MVA comprising three prominent parties each, the likelihood of contenders securing tickets from a specific constituency decreases if it is already represented by another alliance member. This situation increases the risk of rebellion," the analyst said.

Feeling threatened, poll aspirants are trying to get the sympathy of voters by meeting influential leaders like Jarange in the Marathwada region, political observer Abhay Deshpande said.

In the event of rebellions, votes will get divided and winning margins reduced, he opined.

"In such a scenario, consolidating all the small factors becomes essential. The meetings of MLAs and aspiring candidates with Jarange could be viewed as one of these attempts," Deshpande added.

Jarange said interviews of poll aspirants will be conducted from Thursday but the final call on whether to field candidates from the Maratha community will be taken on October 20.

"We will organise a meeting of the Maratha community at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna on October 20 to determine whether the community should field candidates or work towards ensuring the defeat of those leaders who oppose the Maratha reservation," Jarnage said.

He stressed that the upcoming decision will be caste-neutral and candidates from all backgrounds will be considered.

Meanwhile, hours after Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde asked Jarange to reflect on the work done by the Mahayuti government for the Maratha community, the latter launched the sharpest attack on Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, sparing Shinde.

"Shinde promised to provide the reservation but failed. He was compelled not to grant reservation to the Maratha community," Jarange told reporters.

Accusing Fadnavis of standing in the way of the Maratha quota, Jarange accused the state home minister of registering false cases against thousands of Maratha youths.

"Fadnavis once asked us to obtain a written commitment from Maha Vikas Aghadi whether they are willing to grant the reservation to Marathas in the OBC category," he said.

In the 2019 parliamentary elections, the BJP won all the Lok Sabha seats in the Marathwada region, which emerged as the ground zero of Maratha protests steered by Jarange over the last two years.

The 2024 Lok Sabha polls witnessed a significant division of votes in the region, a factor believed to have contributed to the narrow defeat of the OBC leader of BJP, Pankaja Munde, from Beed.

Ramesh Pokale, state vice president of the BJP Kisan Morcha, met Jarange in August. Maharashtra Industries Minister Uday Samant, considered close to CM Shinde, also met Jarange at Antarwali Sarati recently.

AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel called on Jarange the day before and hinted at allying with the Maratha activist for the cause of Marathas and Muslims.

"If people's welfare is involved, anything can happen. Important cards will be played at the right time," Jarange told reporters flanked by Jaleel.

Among prominent politicians who met Jarange separately over the last month include Maharashtra cabinet minister Abdul Sattar of Shiv Sena, former CM Prithviraj Chavan and MLA Dheeraj Deshmukh from Congress.