At the beginning of the Maharashtra assembly elections, Maratha reservation was considered a big issue, but as the campaign reached its peak, the discussion was limited to two slogans. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath uttered the slogan “If we are divided, we will be divided” and Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: If we are united, we are safe. Mahayuti, who strives to save energy, even ran advertisements on the front page of all major newspapers in the state along with the turbans of all communities: “If one is safe, they are safe.”
In this advertisement printed with saffron background, along with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the names and symbols of the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) and Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) were also printed. These slogans, these advertisements are still the subject of debate. The party and the opposition have their own arguments, but in political circles it is being seen as a strategy to solve the complex voting equation. Complex equation to create new voting arithmetic by bringing Maratha and OBC communities on a single platform.
There is tension between these two communities, which have a strong influence in Maharashtra politics, regarding the Maratha reservation movement and this tension has increased tension between the Mahayutis and the opposition Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA).
What is the strength of Maratha and OBC?
The Maratha community has dominated the politics of Maharashtra. This can also be understood from the fact that of the 288 MLAs elected in the 2019 assembly elections, more than half, around 160 MLAs, were from the Maratha community. Even in the recent Lok Sabha elections, Maratha candidates won more than half of the seats in the state, the number of which is said to be around two and a half dozen.
From the vote bank point of view, OBC is the largest category. According to the Backward Classes Commission report, there are 52 per cent OBCs in Maharashtra and the proportion of the Maratha community in the population is 28 per cent, but when it comes to supremacy in politics, the Marathas seem to have the upper hand .
There are 62 assembly seats in Vidarbha region, an area dominated by OBC voters. At the same time, there are 46 assembly seats in Marathwada, dominated by the Maratha community, and 70 in western Maharashtra. There are a total of 116 assembly seats in these two Maratha-dominated regions. If these two classes are combined, the number of Marathas and OBCs reaches around 80 per cent, which can make the path to power easier for any party, but this does not happen.
The political temperament of both is different
The political temperament of Maratha and OBC has been different and the result of this is the pocket politics of Maharashtra. The Maratha society at large has voted for and supported the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Shiv Sena. The Congress has also been gaining support in the Maratha vote bank, but behind this, more credit is given to the support base of the Maratha leaders and the support of the NCP than to the party’s own base. The BJP has also relied more on allies like the Shiv Sena to win Maratha votes.
Why no party has control over OBC and Maratha?
There are reasons for no party to have equal control over the OBC and Maratha communities. In the area of caste identity, the polarization between both classes is very intense and the same was also observed in the recent Lok Sabha elections. In the Lok Sabha elections, Maratha voters avoided voting for OBC candidates, while OBCs avoided voting for Maratha candidates. It was more about the candidate than the party.
Manoj Jarang’s Maratha reservation movement and the demand for a Kunbi certificate for the Maratha community have further increased the distance between the two communities. Issuance of Kunbi certificate to the Maratha community would directly mean reservation under the OBC quota. Due to this, the mutual tension between both the communities increased so much that Marathas stopped buying goods from OBC shops and OBCs stopped buying goods from shops of traders belonging to the Maratha community.
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Before the Lok Sabha elections, the Mahayuti government had tried to balance the OBCs and the Marathas by passing the Maratha Reservation Bill, but that attempt failed. If we talk about the Marathwada region in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP fell vacant while its alliance partner Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) was able to win one seat. Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP candidates won all the remaining seats in this region.
Which party is doing what?
Both the Mahayuti alliance and the MVA are strengthening their grip on the OBC and Maratha vote banks and preparing a strategy aimed at the smaller castes in each other’s vote banks. MVA, while supporting the demand for reservation for the Maratha community, has taken steps to remove the reservation limit by not giving it to the OBC quota. The Dhangar caste, which is the BJP’s biggest voter and has an estimated population of around five per cent, is demanding Scheduled Tribe status.
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BJP has been following the ‘MADHVA’ formula in the state. Madhav means gardener, Dhangar and Vanjari. According to estimates, the population of Mali in Maharashtra is seven per cent and the population of Vanjari is approximately six per cent. From this core vote bank of 18 per cent of the BJP, the resentment of the five per cent caste has increased tension in the ruling alliance. The BJP is now working on a strategy to increase its support base among the smaller castes beyond the large OBC castes.
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The Mahayuti government, apart from sending the proposal to the Center to include seven OBC castes in the central list, also recommended increasing the creamy layer limit from eight to 12 lakhs, and the reason behind this is to try to maintain the OBC. united vote bank. The BJP hopes that like in the Lok Sabha elections, Mahayuti will also get decent support from the Maratha community in Marathwada and Mumbai in the Thane-Konkan region.
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Where the BJP is vocal during the election campaign regarding OBCs. At the same time, the MVA leaders avoid speaking openly about Manoj Jarange’s demand for Kunbi certificate. Both alliances want to maintain their chances of making a dent in the OBC and Maratha vote bank. This is the reason why parties want to maintain the sentiment of both classes on the Maratha reservation issue, but when it comes to campaigning on the public platform, they focus only on issues like women’s welfare.
