BJP watches as...
Jarange-Patil sat on a hunger agitation a couple of months before the Lok Sabha polls at his village in Beed district of Marathwada region and successfully created galvanisation in the community. Political leaders believe Jarange-Patil's agitation was the single biggest reason behind the BJP's poor show in Marathwada and even Western Maharashtra. Union Ministers such as Bharati Pawar and Raosaheb Danve lost in their constituency, even Pankaja Munde lost in Beed where it was believed that the wave created by Maratha reservation caused her defeat. Both the seats that the BJP-led coalition won went to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena. Now, the BJP its Mahayuti partners want to douse the agitation.
In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray held a party rally on Sunday night where he said quick action was needed on Maratha reservation. "My party is willing to support the government in the state legislative assembly if they bring a bill to increase the overall limit for reservation and send that proposal to the center for approval" Uddhav said. If the overall percentage which stands at 50% has to be increased, the state assembly has to pass a resolution and send if for approval to Lok Sabha. This process may take time and may not materialize before the state assembly polls in Maharashtra which are likely to take place by the last week of October 2024.
Opposition leaders in the state can sense that this is now becoming a big issue. NCP (SCP) MP Supriya Sule blamed the government for inaction on the issue. "How much time can the government spend without any action on the reservation? We demand that the community should be given some assurance" Sule told the media.
The government is mindful of the attendant law and order situation in case there is a stir.