Why Marathwada holds the key in Maharashtra battle: Caste faultlines to development pitch

Since the opening of the Maratha quota agitation successful 2023, the ruling Shiv Sena main and Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde — who is Maratha himself — has been treading cautiously connected the demands for Marathas’ inclusion successful the OBC category.

In September 2023, Shinde travelled to the Antarwali-Sarati colony successful Marathwada’s Jalna territory to conscionable activistic Manoj Jarange-Patil — who has been spearheading an agitation seeking Maratha preservation nether the Kunbi (OBC) class – to impulse him to extremity his fast.

According to the State Backward Commission, Marathas relationship for 28% of the state’s population.

Following the Maratha quota stir, the Maharashtra Assembly successful February passed a caller instrumentality to springiness 10% abstracted preservation to the community. The Mahayuti confederation — comprising the Shiv Sena, the BJP, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) — had hoped this outreach would springiness them an borderline successful the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

This nevertheless did not cookware retired that way, with Patil and protesters continuing to request the Maratha quota nether the OBC category. The Mahayuti confederation ended up losing 7 of the 8 Lok Sabha seats successful the region. The Congress won 3 seats (Latur, Jalna and Nanded), portion the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) besides won 3 seats (Dharashiv, Parbhani and Hingoli). The NCP (SP) led by Sharad Pawar won Beed, with the Shinde

Sena getting conscionable the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar seat.

Crowded battleground

The Marathwada portion comprises 8 districts: Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (earlier Aurangabad), Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Parbhani and Dharashiv (earlier Osmanabad).

Four CMs of Maharashtra — the Congress’s Shivajirao Patil-Nilangekar, Shankarrao Chavan, Vilasrao Deshmukh and Ashok Chavan (now with the BJP) — are from the region. It was a Congress stronghold, but the party’s power started waning by the 70s.

Then CM Sharad Pawar’s connection successful the 1970s to rename the Marathwada University arsenic Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar University saw protests and riots. The Shiv Sena, past led by its laminitis precocious Bal Thackeray, managed to make a basal successful Marathwada and brought immoderate Maratha leaders into its fold.

In the 1990s, erstwhile the Ram Temple request gained momentum, the BJP made inroads into the region. The Shiv Sena, which took a Hindutva turn, strengthened its base.

In the precocious 2000s, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul-Musilimeen (AIMIM) — a Hyderabad-based enactment —- besides started making inroads successful Marathwada. The region, which is said to person an estimated 15% Muslim population, was portion of the erstwhile Nizam authorities of Hyderabad and continues to stock a taste affinity with Hyderabad. With a absorption connected the Muslim-dominated areas, the AIMIM caused further erosion successful the Congress basal successful Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Nanded districts.

The Congress dilatory mislaid its governmental dominance successful the region, its power being constricted to Latur, the location territory of Vilasrao Deshmukh and Nanded, the location territory of Ashok Chavan. In the 2019 Assembly polls, the BJP and the undivided Sena unneurotic won 28 seats, portion the Congress and NCP won 8 seats each. Two seats went to others. In 2019, the AIMIM won its archetypal Lok Sabha predetermination successful Maharashtra erstwhile its campaigner Imtiyaz Jaleel won from Aurangabad seat, ending 3 successive presumption of the Sena MP there.

Aftermath of Maratha stir

Maharashtra authorities has seen an upheaval since 2019, marked with the splits successful the Sena and the NCP. Adding to this has been the vigor generated by the Maratha quota agitation. These factors volition play a cardinal relation successful the portion successful the coming elections.

The value of the Maratha ballot is evident: Seven retired of 8 MPs from Marathwada beryllium to the Maratha community. The different seat, Latur, is simply a Scheduled Caste- reserved seat.

The Lok Sabha polls is besides a pointer to however caste authorities would play a relation successful the Assembly polls successful the aftermath of the Maratha agitation.

In Beed and Parbhani, for example, the polarisation and part of Maratha, Muslim and Dalit votes led to the decision of the Mahayuti’s OBC candidates Pankaja Munde and Mahadev Jankar respectively. Similarly, Shinde Sena’s Maratha campaigner Sandipan Bhumare won from Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar against Uddhav Sena’s OBC look Chandrakant Khaire.

Jarange-Patil has already appealed to Marathas to “vote 100% successful this predetermination and decision whoever is opposing our request for OBC status”.

Alongside this, the reconfigurations pursuing the Sena and NCP splits volition play a immense role.

Despite her decision successful the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP’s salient Vanjari look Pankaja Munde arsenic good arsenic her cousin, the NCP’s Dhananjay Munde, are apt to beryllium among cardinal faces successful the Assembly polls, particularly successful Beed district.

With Ashok Chavan shifting to the BJP from Congress, Amit Deshmukh from Latur has emerged arsenic the Congress’s look successful Marathwada. With the Congress winning 3 LS seats, helium is being tasked to pb the enactment to a bigger triumph successful the region.

Despite the divided successful the Sena, Uddhav Thackeray has managed to clasp his precocious manus by winning 3 Lok Sabha seats of the 4 it contested. His run is being built connected affectional entreaty to its voters against the BJP, who helium has accused of splitting the Sena.

And past determination are the developmental challenges successful the region. A drought-prone region, Marathwada was nether the Hyderabad Nizam regularisation and was integrated into India 13 months aft Independence connected September 17, 1948. Even today, the portion lacks irrigation and infrastructural facilities. About 65% of its colonisation present is babelike connected farming activities. In 2023, implicit 2,851 farmers successful Maharashtra died by suicide, 1,088 of whom were from Marathwada.

All the contenders successful the portion are besides expected to transportation for development. How this would play retired remains to beryllium seen.