Ahead of civic polls, NCP & Shiv Sena tread cautiously on Jarange’s Maratha quota protest

Pune/Nashik: NCP and Shiv Sena appear to be taking a cautious approach to Manoj Jarange's indefinite hunger strike in Mumbai's Azad Maidan and refraining from criticising him, fearing its implications could affect their prospects in the upcoming civic body elections. This stand is in sharp contradiction to BJP whose members are vocal against the Maratha quota activist's demands. On Saturday, deputy chief ministers Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde were away from the state capital. Shinde travelled to his village Dare in Satara district while Pawar chose to be in his home district of Pune. Pawar, however, refuted the allegations that chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was left alone to face Jarange's protest. "There is no such issue. Yesterday (Friday) we were all in Mumbai, and tomorrow we will be together again. Govt is taking the necessary steps to find a solution. The sub-committee was constituted, and its members will soon hold a discussion with the protestors," Pawar said in Pune.State govt has formed a sub-committee headed by cabinet minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil to discuss Jarange's demands related to allocation of benefits from the OBC reservation. Cabinet ministers Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Nitesh Rane have come down heavily on Jarange for his language against the CM. Another cabinet minister from BJP, Chandrakant Patil, who is also one of the sub-committee members, on Saturday said some of the demands could not be fulfilled. On the other hand, NCP MLA Prakash Solanke and Sena MP Sandipan Bhumre on Friday and Saturday not only met Jarange at Azad Maidan but also extended their support to his agitation.A section of the NCP and Sena MLAs admitted that if the protest prolonged, it could impact the Mahayuti alliance's prospects in the upcoming local body polls. "There is pressure on us from Maratha voters in our constituencies to fulfil Jarange's demands. Although it is impossible for govt to meet some of them, we are unable to criticise him lest it annoys the Marathas who voted for us in the assembly poll," said an NCP minister, who did not wish to be named.A cabinet minister from Sena said nearly 30% of the more than 4.2 lakh voters in his constituency are from the Maratha community."Unlike assembly constituencies, wards for municipal corporations and zilla parishads are much smaller, and Maratha voters will play a crucial role in victories in several of them. We will be at the receiving end in the civic elections if we are critical of Jarange," he added.Another Sena minister said he and his party cadres have already started reaching out to Maratha voters in his constituency to prove that state govt is seriously looking into Jarange's demands. "This is to make sure that Marathas who voted for me in assembly election do not side with the Maha Vikas Aghadi in the contest to govern local bodies. It is for the CM to find a solution to the issue as quickly as possible to ensure that it does not spoil Mahayuti's chances in the local body polls," the minister said. According to political observers, NCP and Sena will not go against Jarange as a large section of their vote bank is from the Maratha community. "BJP's vote bank consists of Brahmins, OBCs, and a section of Marathas who follow staunch Hindutva ideology. However, for NCP and Shiv Sena, the Maratha community matters a lot as it gets them the maximum votes. Therefore, these parties have not taken any aggressive stand against Jarange, anticipating its implications in the upcoming civic body polls," a political analyst said.