In a decisive development ahead of polling in Maharashtra, Maratha reservation agitator Manoj Jaranje has withdrawn his nomination and also urged his supporters to do the same. Jaranje has, in the last few months, capitalized on the delicate issue of Maratha reservation in his favor as he has emerged as a central figure. Interestingly, his withdrawal came hours after he held a press conference on Sunday morning, lashing out at the BJP. He said that he would take revenge on the Mahayuti government for not granting reservations to the Maratha community and announced candidates for 25 seats.
While withdrawing, he said that he couldn’t contest the election based on a single community, adding that he had called upon Muslim and Dalit communities, but this was not reciprocated. So, what changed in just a few hours? More importantly, Jaranje vowed to take revenge, so why did he withdraw in fear of losing the election when his contest would have fulfilled his intentions?
Understanding the chronology of the events makes it entirely clear that neither Jaranje’s rise nor his withdrawal is truly for the benefit of the Maratha community. Rather, he is a pawn in a larger game played to dent the BJP’s poll campaign.
It all started with the Supreme Court’s decision to quash the 16 percent reservation for the Maratha community in May 2021, which, by the way, had been provisioned by the Mahayuti government itself. Jaranje started a hunger strike and came into the spotlight after police forcibly tried to admit him to the hospital.
It was clear that the ruling Mahayuti was in favor of granting reservation to the Marathas, yet Jaranje tried to rally support against the government, compromising the path of dialogue. Time and again, leaders from Mahayuti, including Eknath Shinde himself, met Jaranje to move forward with dialogue. However, Jaranje was adamant about taking the futile path.
Meanwhile, Jaranje persistently targeted the Mahayuti government, especially Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. He even called Fadnavis a Maratha hater, despite Fadnavis having given the highest-ever 16 percent reservation to the Marathas.
The approach towards reservation for the community from both sides leaves no doubt that Jaranje was more interested in hurting the BJP than securing a reservation. Bahujan Vikas Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar, a staunch critic of both alliances in Maharashtra, had echoed a similar sentiment in August this year when he claimed that Jaranje was working on the directions of Sharad Pawar. Back then, he had said that if Jaranje backed out of the polls, it would prove that he was aligned with Pawar.
Surprisingly, things turned out exactly as predicted. But why would Sharad Pawar use him? The answer to this question lies in poll data from five years ago. In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP won 16 seats with over 40 percent vote share in Marathwada. After Vidarbha, Marathwada gave the BJP the second-highest vote share in 2019.
For the BJP to lose, the Marathwada ground needed to be shaken. After the 2021 Supreme Court order quashing the 16 percent quota, the long-burning Maratha reservation issue was given a new spark. Jaranje emerged as a torchbearer of the Maratha community, and Mahayuti was projected in a bad light. By the time of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, the dynamics had shifted, and the opposition MVA garnered over 44 percent vote share in Marathwada, winning 8 out of a total of nine seats.
Jaranje’s campaign shifted the Maratha vote towards the Sharad Pawar-Congress-Uddhav Sena alliance. Consequently, this is the reason why Jaranje backed out, as his entry into the fray would have divided the Maratha vote and helped the BJP. Moreover, his eventual goal as a pawn was already conceived, so there wasn’t a need to continue.
Unfortunately, despite being used as a political tool, the Maratha community still stands at the same crossroads as it was in May 2021. Jaranje may have polished his identity for a short time, but he has miserably failed in the cause, which will unveil his reality soon.
Nevertheless, like the Maratha community, every sect, religion, and community must understand that there are numerous examples like Jaranje in Indian political history. These figures seem to fight for the cause of their community but eventually settle for their own interests. This is because they never independently spearhead these campaigns and, thus, lack decisive power of their own.