Maratha quota fire reignites: Why Maharashtra govt is caught between Jarange Patil and OBC backlash

The Shinde-led government in January 2024 had issued a draft notification promising Kunbi certificates for Marathas and their sage soyare.

At Azad Maidan in Mumbai, Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil has once again begun an indefinite fast, demanding that Marathas be given reservation under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category and recognised with Kunbi caste certificates.

Since August 2023, he has staged multiple hunger strikes, forcing successive governments to scramble for quick fixes. But with elections approaching, his latest protest has sharpened political stakes.

A government cornered

To handle the renewed agitation, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis has set up a 12-member cabinet sub-committee led by BJP minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil. Its job is to negotiate with Patil and find a formula that keeps both Marathas and OBCs on board.

According to The Indian Express, the panel will escalate its findings to CM Fadnavis, Deputy CM and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde, and Deputy CM and NCP president Ajit Pawar, making this a test of the Mahayuti alliance itself.

Fadnavis has ruled out outright OBC inclusion, saying it would “invite backlash from OBCs which have 350 communities under quota” and create a dangerous “us versus them” divide in Maharashtra.

The Maratha wish-list: Kunbi status and sage soyare

Patil’s two main demands are:

Kunbi OBC recognition for Marathas, through blanket issuance of caste certificates.

Inclusion of sage soyare, extending Kunbi certificates to relatives across generations in the family tree.

The cabinet sub-committee has signalled openness to considering these if documentary evidence exists. But government legal experts admit that without “concrete documentation,” handing out Kunbi certificates would collapse under judicial scrutiny.

Welfare schemes as a fallback plan

Sources told The Indian Express that the cabinet sub-committee is also exploring another route, extending to Marathas the welfare schemes currently availed by OBCs through reservation benefits.

“This means that though the government cannot accommodate the Maratha reservation within the OBC quota, related beneficiary schemes may be considered for Marathas too,” sources told The Indian Express.

In other words, if the state cannot give the Marathas a legal share of the OBC quota pie, it may try to compensate with targeted educational and job-linked welfare schemes.

Why OBCs are ready for a street fight

OBC organisations have already warned of a counter-agitation if Patil’s demands are accepted in any form. Laxman Hake, an OBC leader, told The Indian Express: “It would show that the government is bowing to Maratha pressure. The OBC groups will not allow any compromise on their quota.”

OBCs hold 19 percent of Maharashtra’s reservation share. Marathas already have 10 percent under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2024, which Fadnavis insists is still legally valid and “has not been stayed.” Adding them again under OBC would not just breach the 50 percent Supreme Court ceiling but also risk igniting caste polarisation across the state.

Drafts, committees and delays: A familiar loop

The Shinde-led government in January 2024 had issued a draft notification promising Kunbi certificates for Marathas and their sage soyare. Jarange Patil suspended his agitation in Navi Mumbai after that move, but the promise never materialised.

In February, the government tried another route, passing the Maharashtra State Reservation for SEBC Bill, 2024, granting Marathas 10 percent quota in jobs and education. The law was based on the Backward Class Commission report declaring Marathas socially and educationally backward. But this too is now being challenged in the Bombay High Court through a PIL.

To complicate matters, the Justice (retd) Sandeep Shinde committee, tasked with working out criteria for Kunbi inclusion, has just been given a six-month extension.

Opposition smells blood

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar’s NCP-SP) has thrown its weight behind Patil. By supporting his agitation and calling out the Mahayuti for 'failure to deliver.'

Even within the Maratha Kranti Morcha, an umbrella group of Maratha outfits, leaders like Vinod Patil are reminding the government of its broken promises. “In January 2024, the Mahayuti government had issued a draft notification on Kunbi caste certificates for Marathas and their sage soyare. It was not implemented,” he said.