Pune: In a dramatic move, the top leader of the Maratha reservation agitation, Manoj Jarange-Patil, announced on Monday that he had decided to stay away from active electoral politics and asked all his candidates to withdraw their nominations for the assembly polls on November 20.

Around 17 candidates had filed nominations as Independents, calling themselves supporters of Jarange-Patil in the Marathwada region; the exact number of candidates is not known. It was widely expected that these candidates would eat into the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s voter base and would indirectly benefit the BJP-led Mahayuti. Now, with Jarange-Patil’s withdrawal, Maratha candidates fielded in Marathwada by the Sharad Pawar NCP and Eknath Shinde Shiv Sena will benefit, as a division of the Maratha community votes will mostly be avoided.

Statement Of Maratha Quota Activist Manoj Jarange-Patil

“There is no point in fighting elections as we have realised that the chances of our candidates winning are slim. I don’t want my young candidates and the Maratha community to be disappointed with losses. Our candidates not winning will be a psychological blow to our people. I have taken the decision to withdraw from the polls as I feel electoral politics is not our business, But our agitation for the rights of the Maratha community and our fight for the demand of reservation for the community will continue. I have decided to ask all my candidates to withdraw their nominations. Now I am not supporting any candidate or any party. People should vote as they wish. But they should ensure that those who are against our demand for reservation are defeated,” JarangePatil told the media at a conference held on Monday morning, hours before the deadline to withdraw nominations.

Lok Sabha Elections 2024

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, it was evident that the Maratha reservation agitation had caused a lot of damage to the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance. All of the Marathwada region was fired up by the Maratha reservation agitation and the Mahayuti lost all but the one seat of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, where Eknath Shinde’s candidate, Sandipan Bhumre, won the polls. This time, the Mahayuti has been cautious, going mainly with Maratha candidates in most of the 46 seats in Marathwada.

The Shinde Shiv Sena is contesting 16 of these 46 seats, with almost all candidates being Marathas, while the Sharad Pawar NCP is contesting 15 seats, having fielded all Maratha faces. It is obvious that now, with the possibility of Maratha votes staying undivided, Shinde and Sharad Pawar will be the biggest gainers of Jarange-Patil’s decision to withdraw from the race. The BJP has fielded a combination of Maratha and OBC candidates in the region, while the Ajit Pawar NCP has mainly focussed on western Maharashtra in their candidate list.

In the initial days of Jarange-Patil’s agitation, he was flanked by Rajesh Tope and other leaders from Jalna who are close to Sharad Pawar; however, in recent phases of the agitation, some of Eknath Shinde’s leaders have been seen discussing strategy with Jarange-Patil, giving rise to speculation about whether he was influenced at various times, by Sharad Pawar’s deputies and Eknath Shinde.

Both Sharad Pawar and Eknath Shinde have repeatedly denied in the media that they have had anything to do with the agitation. NCP leader Ajit Pawar has been keeping away entirely, even avoiding visits to Jarange-Patil’s agitation sites. The Maratha quota stir has gained a lot of ground in the past two years, with its impact majorly seen in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.