Ahead of the state elections, the Maratha reservation question has become hot in Maharashtra. Former Union minister and BJP MP Bhagwat Karad brought the matter to the forefront. Speaking on the Karad Maratha reservation, he advised this community not to acquire a reservation under the OBC quota. As a result, the rights of the OBC population will be harmed. Conversely, Manoj Jarange Patil, a well-known Maratha reservation movement activist, has challenged the Maharashtra government about what their position is on the Maratha reservation and assigned a deadline of August 13. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis presents Patil’s demand for a reserve for the Maratha community in the OBC quota.
Patil has declared that he will soon be traveling to Maharashtra and contacting the Maratha people about the issue. If their needs remain unmet, he has also threatened to contest in the upcoming assembly elections. We will soon reveal the dates of the state’s assembly elections. Under such circumstances, BJP MP Bhagwat Karad’s remarks on Maratha reserve and Manoj Jarange Patil’s announcement can cause problems for the Shiv Sena and BJP governments.
In 2014, the Maratha Reserve became a topic of discussion.
When the then Prithviraj Chavan government passed an ordinance granting Marathas a 16% quota in government employment and education inside Maharashtra, the Maratha reservation gained impetus in 2014. The Bombay High Court halted the ordinance, but the Assembly passed it. The issue simmered down after the BJP-Shiv Sena returned to power in the state following the 2014 assembly elections; nevertheless, the Maratha community’s demonstrations started, and the demand for reserve reignited following the rape and murder of a Maratha girl in the Kopardi region of Ahmednagar in 2016. The Fadnavis administration once again brought the Backward Class Act to provide 16% reservation to the Maratha community in 2018, but the Supreme Court also abolished it in 2021. The Maratha reservation question is gaining traction in Maharashtra as the Assembly elections draw near.
