Maratha quotas: Jarange-Patil threatens to contest all assembly seats in Oct

Jalna (Maharashtra): Talking tough, Shivba Sanghatana chief Manoj Jarange-Patil -- who started a fresh hunger strike -- threatened to contest all seats in the Maharashtra assembly elections in October if the government fails to implement the Maratha community’s demands, here on Saturday.

Speaking to media persons, Jarange-Patil said that the government must adhere to its promises made in January of giving the Maratha quotas, implement the decision of ‘sage-soyare’ (bloodline) and other points.

“I honoured the model code of conduct during the (Lok Sabha) elections. The government must now keep its word. We did not vote for or against any candidate of any party. However, if the state fails us now, then we shall contest all the 288 assembly seats. We shall also name specific candidates and ensure their defeat in the polls,” warned Jarange-Patil.

The Shivba Sanghatana leader’s aggression probably stems from the fact that the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections saw more than 50 per cent of the winners hailing from the politically dominant Maratha caste.

From the total 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, the Marathas romped home in 26 seats from various parties, including Shiv Sena and Shiv Sena-UBT (6 each), Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress (5 each), Nationalist Congress Party-SP (4).

Among the prominent winners are Kolhapur’s Chhatrapati Shrimant Shahu Maharaj (Congress), Satara’s Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhosale (BJP), Thane’s Shrikant Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena), Mumbai South’s Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena-UBT) and Baramati’s Supriya Sule (NCP-SP).

Accompanied by a large number of supporters, Jarange-Patil launched a hunger strike at his village Antaravali-Sarati in continuation of his series of agitations including sit-in strikes, protest marches, mega-rallies, a long march to Navi Mumbai and demonstrations since August 2023.

The state government had convened a Special Session of Legislature and conceded several of the Maratha demands and certain others still left to be implemented as per the understanding, as contended by Jarange-Patil.