THE MARATHA versus OBC reservation politics has moved on from street protests to the workings of the Maharashtra government. The no-holds-barred statements and threats by Chhagan Bhujbal in case the Marathas are given reservation from within the OBC quota have invited an outburst by fellow minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil.
On Wednesday, Vikhe-Patil, a senior BJP minister, sought the resignation of Bhujbal, an NCP minister, for demanding disbanding of the Justice (retd) Sandeep Shinde committee constituted to look into the Maratha reservation issue.
A heavyweight Maratha leader from Ahmednagar district, Vikhe-Patil also admonished Bhujbal for his aggressive statements on the issue, and urged Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, a fellow Maratha, to take action against him. As a senior minister, Bhujbal should have voiced his reservations at an appropriate forum, Vikhe-Patil said.
A low-profile leader not known to take confrontational positions, Vikhe-Patil’s demand surprised many. However, a senior BJP functionary said that Bhujbal’s remarks are now starting to hurt Maratha leaders — especially those in the BJP. Of the three allies in the Maharashtra ruling coalition, only the BJP is led by a non-Maratha, Devendra Fadnavis, and Vikhe-Patil’s stand is being seen as a message to the party’s Maratha supporters.
According to sources, Maratha MLAs and ministers in private have urged top leaders to intervene and tell Bhujbal to tone down. Earlier, the Maratha community had not been pleased about the BJP maintaining silence when Bhujbal attacked quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil. It was the sharpest attack on the activist at a time when the government was trying to mollify him, and the Opposition had called Bhujbal’s words part of a BJP script to cause Maratha-OBC polarisation.
For Bhujbal, who represents Yeola constituency in Nashik, the quota tussle has provided an opportunity to reclaim his position as an OBC leader.
In Maharashtra, OBCs are estimated to constitute 52% of the population, with influence on 150 of the 288 Assembly seats and 28 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats. The Marathas are numerically leaner, at 33% of the population, but are influential and a dominant political force.
Vikhe-Patil, with three generations in politics and strong networking in the cooperative, sugar mill and education sector, is highly revered across communities, especially the Marathas.
While the Shinde panel is looking at the standard operating process to issue Kunbi certificates to Marathas, the State Backward Class Commission has been tasked with working on empirical data and establishing backwardness, which is mandatory for reservation.
Incidentally, while Shinde earlier urged his ministers not to make any statements in public that would hurt some community and to show restraint, Vikhe-Patil has not faced any major repercussions.
Earlier, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) minister Sambhuraje Desai had led a delegation to express disappointment over Bhujbal’s anti-Maratha stand.