Do not touch OBC reservation, or face consequences in Assembly Election: Maharashtra OBC leader Shendge

Rising resistance from OBC community leaders in Maharashtra against potential tampering with OBC reservations in upcoming elections.

Amidst the ongoing debate over Maratha quota, resistance of another community towards the Maratha reservation is rising in Maharashtra. The OBC community leaders have issued a warning to the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led MahaYuti: any tampering with OBC reservations will incur severe repercussions in the upcoming Assembly elections. 

Former BJP MLA from Jat, Sangli, and founder of the OBC Bahujan Party Prakash Shendge on June 16 said, “Only those who champion the cause of OBC welfare shall govern this State. If the government dares to revoke the Government Resolution that placed Marathas under OBC reservations, we will bring them down in the upcoming elections.” 

Why and how Muslims were given quotas under OBC reservation in Karnataka

“We supported Maratha reservations when they were given 10% quota beyond the 50% limit, and now they seek Kunbi certificates, EWS reservations, and inclusion under OBC category. What about the future of OBC children? Without a written assurance protecting OBC reservations, none of us will participate in discussions. This movement isn’t just local; it will spread throughout Maharashtra,” asserted Mr. Shendge in Wadigodri village, Jalna, a kilometre away from where Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil staged an indefinite protest on June 8. 

Mr. Jarange, who suspended his hunger strike on June 13, following discussions with State Minister Shamburaj Desai and Shiv Sena MP-elect from Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (previously Aurangabad) Sandipan Bhumre, had demanded Maratha reservations under the OBC Kunbi category and the implementation of a draft notification benefiting relatives of Marathas already recognised as Kunbi OBCs. 

Mr. Shendge pointed out that OBC is dominant in numbers, with tribals and Muslim population colliding with them they have the sway over who enters the Assembly. “Do not provoke the OBCs.”