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"Till Marathas don't get reservation, every politician is banned from entering the village. Give us reservation and then you can enter," reads a signboard erected outside Gangapur village, about 60 kms from Sambhaji Nagar (formerly Aurangabad).
In 2018, the village made national headlines after Kakasaheb Shinde, a Gangapur local who was associated with the Sakal Maratha Samaj outfit, died by suicide by jumping into the Godavari river on 25 July, 2018.
A board like the one erected outside Gangapur is a common sighting outside scores of villages in the Marathwada region where the most pressing issue this election is Maratha reservation.
The community, which is now more united and stronger on the demands than before, can solely decide the fate of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led 'Mahayuti' alliance in Maharashtra this Lok Sabha election.
At the forefront of it all is activist Manoj Jarange Patil.
But while 10% reservation was declared by the state government in January this year, why is the movement still on? Where did it all begin? Are Marathas upset with the government? And will this movement affect the upcoming elections?
Antarwali Sarati: The Epicentre
Antawali Sarati village in Maharashta's Jalna district, with about 4,000 people, is the epicentre of Maratha protests.
For the past 8 months, the Maratha reservation issue has had the state and central governments on the edge. Since August last year, Jarange Patil has carried out several hunger strikes, united several Maratha outfits, and compelled political leaders and state ministers, including CM Eknath Shinde to approve his demands.
Jarange was a name known in the Maratha activism circles of Jalna and Marathwada. But one misstep by the local administration not only made him a household name in the state but also united the Maratha community in its demand for reservation.
In August 2023, Jarange Patil sat on a hunger strike. On 1 September, as the authorities tried to move him to a hospital citing deterioration of his health, a clash erupted between protesters and the police where villagers were lathi-charged, and pellet guns and tear gas shells were used to disperse them.
The villagers of Antarwali Sarati still remember the day.
"The lathi charge started all of a sudden. They hit old people too. They fired pellets and tear gas shells," said Vijay Tarakh (43), who along with his wife Nirmala, was one of the most severely injured.
"I have eight stiches on my head, have a pellet injury, and was hit in the leg. In such a situation, it took us an hour to reach the hospital. The state of the village was worrisome," Vijay said.
After the clash, his wife Nirmala was critical for months.
"I have 27 stitches on my head. They hit my nose with two helmets. My nose had to be operated upon, it was crushed. Male officers were beating women. The nerve of my right eye is damaged. The right hand and the leg still don't function well. It's been eight months but I still cannot work properly," Nirmala said.
The Hefty Political Cost of One Misstep
The versions of the villagers and visuals of the clash went viral, leading to violent protests in several parts of the state. Scores of Maratha outfits immediately rallied behind Jarange Patil.
Within a week, the movement intensified to the scale that the government may not have anticipated. Jarange Patil demanded that all Marathas be declared Kunbi Marathas, a sub-sect of the Maratha community that has been given reservation under the OBC category.
That is when the state governments trouble doubled.
The OBCs, about 38% of the state's population, revolted. Village after village held massive OBC sabhas to pressurise the government into not giving in to Jarange Patil's demands. State minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhaggan Bhujbal led the OBCs against the Marathas.
But the government couldn't afford to upset either of the communities.
The Eknath Shinde government set up a committee. Among other things, the committee was to look into the claims of Marathas wanting to be identified as Kunbis. The committee also accessed the oldest government records possible to verify claims of about 45,000 Marathas and issued them Kunbi certificates.
But Jarange Patil's key demand was yet unfulfilled - reservation to 'sage-soyare' which promised reservation to relatives of all those who get identified as Kunbi Marathas.
In January, Maratha protesters marched to Mumbai. But while they were at the borders of the city, Shinde met Jarange, declared reservation for the Marathas, and handed over a GR that promised reservation to 'sage-soyare'.
On 20 February, the state government in, a special Assembly session, declared 10% reservation to Marathas. But the GR giving reservation to 'sage-soyare' was not implemented.
"The government did lathi charge. If they want to repent, they just have to implement the 'sage-soyare' GR. If that happens, all Marathas will forget their grievances. No matter what government is in power, we will bless whoever implements that GR," said Lalita Tarakh (32) who has been closely associated with Jarange's movement since August last year.
Why the Demand to Be Identified as OBCs
The state government has tried giving reservation to Marathas twice before. But both times, it was struck down by the courts. So, despite the 10% reservation, Jarange-Patil has been firm on his stand of getting reservation under the OBC category.
All through the movement, Jarange Patil and his followers have been blaming Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis for the police allegedly attacking the villagers. Ugly exchanges have taken place between him and Bhujbal.
The state government constituted an SIT too look into the funding and political backing to the Maratha movement. Jarange Patil renewed calls for protests but stayed away from contesting elections.
Which Way Are Marathas Swaying?
There are eight Lok Sabha Seats in Marathwada — Nanded, Beed, Jalna, Latur, Aurangabad, Hingoli , Osmanabad, and Parbhani.
In 2019, the average voting percentage for the Sena-BJP alliance was at 47.8%. Between 2009 to 2024, the BJP has managed to raise its tally in the region from 2 to 5.
But what in 2019 was a direct BJP-Sena vs Cong-NCP fight in every seat, will now witness the Maratha vs OBC dynamic play out more fiercely and splitting of votes due to split in two key regional parties.
Out of the eight seats:
Three have a direct BJP-Congress contest — Nanded, Jalna, and Latur
Two seats will see a Sena vs Sena split of votes — Aurangabad and Hingoli
While Beed is witnessing a BJP-NCP (Sharad Pawar) contest, Osmanabad is seeing a NCP (Ajit Pawar) and Sena (UBT) fight.
The Parbhani seat is being contested by NDA ally Rashtriya Samaj Paksh.
To look at how the Maratha community can turn the tide, the 2019 results of Aurangabad Lok Sabha is a case study. The Marathas of Aurangabad rallied behind independent candidate Harshvardhan Jadhav who got 2.83 lakh votes, resulting into the defeat of four-time MP Chandrakant Khaire by 4,000 votes and the first-time victory of AIMIM's Imtiaz Jaleel.
From Uddhav Thackeray to PM Modi, every party has beelined to Marathwada to campaign this time.
In fact, PM Modi campaigning for Rashtriya Samaj Paksh (RSP) candidate in Parbhani was a sign that the BJP and the Mahayuti are leaving no stones unturned to tackle the anti-BJP wave within the Maratha community.
"The government thought it could fool Marathas. They thought Marathas will keep quiet. But they will now see what we are capable of. They showed us big dreams when we reached Mumbai but this election we will show what dreams are. They will understand what Marathas are capable of," Lalita said.
Most voters in Antarwali Sarati echoed Lalita's sentiments of feeling 'cheated' by the government.
Mirabai Tarakh, former deputy sarpanch of Antarwali Sarati said the community, irrespective of the party, won't stand by any leader who didn't stand by them in their demand for reservation.
"We know who to vote for and we also know who not to vote for. We won't vote for anyone who harassed us, no matter what party they belong to. We will stand by those who help us. And we will get this reservation for us," Mirabai said.
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