All
Politics
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Celebrities
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is so convinced that the BJP is in a position to defeat Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Bengal that he wants to concentrate more on the state than in Tamil Nadu. Once elections are over in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry on April 9, Shah will spend more than two weeks in Bengal. PM Modi is likely to address two rallies within a week. The BJP has pressed a battery of leaders into action, hoping to unseat the TMC government. “A number of our senior leaders are camping in the state, and more are set to join once the elections in Assam are over…” says a senior BJP leader. Work is being carried out in silos — at the level of both assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies. The BJP has divided West Bengal into nine zones, each zone is being handled by senior leaders, including ministers such as Dharmendra Pradhan, Nityanand Rai, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Sanjay Jaiswal, and Nishikant Dubey. Most of the leaders deployed so far are from Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, among others.”The fact that Amit Shah ji has himself announced that he will campaign and stay in West Bengal for 15 days shows the party’s commitment and seriousness,” a senior leader said. The BJP is also making sure to counter any ‘negative narrative’ by the TMC to ensure such a depiction does not affect its prospects. For instance, soon after Mamata Banerjee claimed that the BJP would ban fish, meat, and even eggs if it came to power, Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar claimed that Bengal’s next CM from the BJP will be a ‘non-vegetarian’ when it comes to food habits. Shah has said, “I have a shortcut for bringing change to the state. Just make Suvendu Adhikari win from Bhabanipur (against Mamata), and the change is bound to happen.”
Raghav Chadha had been the AAP’s face on national media for years now, but recently the MP came into prominence for taking up “quality-of-life issues”, most of which largely concerned the middle- and upper-middle class. Each of his interventions in the Rajya Sabha was crisp in its own way. Chadha, a technocrat with good communication skills, knew exactly how to highlight them. He has 123 lakh followers on Instagram, and almost 10-lakh on X. He went on to become the Aam Aadmi Party’s leader of the House, and later the deputy with the return of senior colleague Sanjay Singh. It may seem odd that the AAP has stripped Chadha of his post as deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha. It is being said that Arvind Kejriwal suspected that Chadha may shift to the BJP ahead of the 2027 Punjab assembly elections. Kejriwal noticed Chadha was not critical of PM Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah. He hasn’t been very vociferous on issues against the BJP. Besides he was found missing in action when AAP may have needed him most. Like when Kejriwal was arrested Chadha was in the UK for eye surgery. Chadha was also absent at the recent “Jan Sabha” at Jantar Mantar, which was Kejriwal’s first public address following his discharge, along with Delhi’s former deputy CM Manish Sisodia. But Chadha has been far from idle and was always present and voluble in Parliament. Chadha campaigned against high samosa-and-chai prices at the airport. Nobody likes paying Rs 350 for a samosa and Rs 150 for a cup of chai. It is an issue that affects at best 5% of people in India who can afford to travel by air. Yet oddly, the government began to work on Chadha’s ideas. Within weeks of his raising the issue, UDAN Yatri cafes opened at 17 airports which offered samosas and tea for Rs 20 and Rs 10, respectively.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) is experiencing extreme discomfort following its outgoing MP Priyanka Chaturvedi’s ‘courtesy’ call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Although she has declared that she will remain in the opposition, the praise heaped by her on Modi is viewed as a signal. Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray is already uneasy since two of his Lok Sabha members attended a reception hosted by Maharashtra’s deputy CM Eknath Shinde’s confidant Pratap Jadhav, MP, in the capital a couple of days ago. While Sena spokesman Sanjay Raut has been predicting that several MLAs from the NCP(Ajit) are planning to defect to the BJP in Maharashtra, he has avoided any comment on the two MPs meeting Jadhav. Significantly, this meeting happened soon after Shinde had visited the national capital. Thus, revival of the so-called ‘Operation Tiger’ is being discussed afresh. The two MPs are Nagesh Patil-Ashtikar (Hingoli) and Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal-Washim), who had attended Jadhav’s felicitation last year as well. Both have clarified that it was a friendly visit and that no politics should be searched about it. However, given the fluid phase in the state polity, their defence is taken with a pinch of salt. Newly-elected Sena (Shinde) Rajya Sabha member Jyoti Waghmare had indicated the possibility of some MPs crossing sides but she had not provided any details. As Priyanka Chaturvedi was in the news over the reported tiff in the Sena (UBT) over the denial of another Rajya Sabha term to her, the call on the PM by her is considered fraught with several possibilities.
Maharashtra deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar’s entry into the state legislative assembly will not happen ‘unopposed’ since the Congress party is seriously considering the option of jumping into the fray. Voting for the byelection for Baramati constituency, caused by the demise of deputy CM Ajit Pawar, will take place on 23 April. According to present indications, Sunetra will file her nomination on 6 April in presence of CM Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CM Eknath Shinde. Already a member of the Rajya Sabha, she will relinquish the Rajya Sabha seat after getting formally elected on 4 May. As Baramati is the stronghold of the NCP(Ajit), her victory is considered a foregone conclusion. Moreover, the NCP (SP) has pledged its support to her. Hence, any opposition to her will be a token gesture at best. Still, the Congress party has decided not to offer Sunetra a walkover. The Congress candidate will be announced in a day or two. Some fringe political elements have said that they will support the Congress. However, it will not make any difference. Thus, the precedent of not contesting a byelection against the family member of a deceased sitting member will thus be sidelined. The Shiv Sena (UBT) is yet to decide its strategy. The other assembly byelection in the state will be held for the Rahuri constituency, again a BJP stronghold. The ruling party has fielded Akshay Kardile, son of the late Shivaji Kardile. There is no worthwhile opposition to the scion of the former minister. Counting for both will be held on 4 May.
He is a veteran Parliamentarian who opens all the debates from the Treasury bench side. So, it was surprising to see this senior BJP leader, a four-time MP Nishikant Dubey stir a controversy by calling Biju Patnaik, a CIA agent. Dubey is not a loose cannon and this is why clued-in political analysts say it could be BJP’s strategy to assess Odia’s icon Biju Patnaik popularity today. It did backfire with people from within BJP taking strong exceptions to Dubey’s loose remarks. Some BJD leaders walked out of the Parliament to register their protest. Seeing the backlash, Dubey apologised on X saying “My thoughts on Nehruji were misconstrued as being about Biju Babu,” It is learnt that PM Modi has intervened to douse the fire. He wrote to Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi praising Biju babu as a symbol of Odisha’s strength and pride having commitment to nation building. Interpreting Modi’s recent praise for Biju babu, Odia’s are asking will Modi ever confer Bharat Ratna status to the late Biju Patnaik or is this just lip service praise to bring the temperature down?
Nayanthara, after marriage and two kids, is still the “Queen” of female leads in Kollywood. Not just her drop dead gorgeous looks, hit Telugu film directors and producers like Dil Raju and Vamshi Paidipally bet big on her charisma and acting …Nayanthara films have rarely failed and her fans love her regal presence, dignity and talent. Any wonder that this director-producer duo (with five consecutive Telugu hits ) have signed her to play the heroine to Salman Khan? Sixty-year old Salman needs a hit, badly as it’s a long time since Bhai danced to his jubilant fans drum beats. Especially Eid releases …this year he didn’t have much to celebrate. Also his already signed work-in-progress, Battle for Galwan is facing some roadblocks and delays. It has undergone a name change to Maatrubhumi directed by Apoorva Lakhia. Sallu needs that one incendiary hit to keep him going. A South team made Jawan with Nayanthara and Shah Rukh Khan unforgettable. Chiranjeevi, not exactly mothballed but not having frequent films had her as his lead in the recent ‘Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu’, an out and out entertainer. Two decades as a heroine, Nayan is not about to settle for a “blink and she is gone” role. The story with Salman is planned to be a solid plot to showcase two great talents. Pre-production work is almost done and shooting is to commence. The producers are all geared up for 2027 Eid release. Salman Khan is sure to celebrate this Eid with warm Mubarakaan from his huge legion of fans.
The time has arrived for those who missed the World Cup bus (ICC Men’s T20) to exhibit their wares in the shortest format of the sport — the Tata-IPL Season-19. India’s Test and one-day international captain Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant must have been hurt not making it to the showpiece event at home. The selectors provided a window for Gill to make an attempt and fit into the Twenty20 squad; they even made him the vice captain for the Asia Cup in the UAE. But to get the “balance of the team” right, they dropped him for one of the signature events of the ICC-19. The IPL has started with the likes of veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma flaying the bowling in their team’s opening matches. And young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi too has lashed out at the Chennai side. But the world would watch with keen interest the ability of Gill and Jaiswal, the men in blue team’s best opening pair in the Twenty20, but who had to make way for the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson. Rajasthan Royals’ Jaiswal used the IPL to force his way into the Indian team, but Gill and Pant came through the BCCI’s established domestic system. Gill is an IPL regular for eight seasons and scored 3866 (3626 as an opener) and will be in the running for the next World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2028, and so would be Jaiswal and Pant. While they would target the 50-over World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia next year, they would double down in the ongoing IPL and make the big splash in order to force their way for the bilateral matches.
It was 2019 when a Karnataka cadre cop waded into the murky waters of Tamil Nadu politics with a dream…to bring the BJP beacon to TN, to get its rightful recognition in this Dravidian stronghold, K Annamalai came in with a vision of Camelot…but today his political survival and special status in the BJP is under a big question mark. The very BJP which nurtured and applauded his strength, is ignoring him. What happened to all that mercurial charisma that made Annamalai, Modi’s favourite (remember he was perhaps the only BJP member who got a one-hour car ride with the PM when Modi drove to the Coimbatore airport). But recently, as the PM was on his way to Kerala, he stopped at Coimbatore airport where a 11-member team was waiting to receive him…BJP’s Women’s Wing leader, Vanathi Srinivasan sounded surprised that Annamalai was not there…did they know that the official list did not have his name! What a profile he had etched in TN… Annamalai was here, there and everywhere …he led padayatras, nursed his Coimbatore constituency and was the inevitable face of the BJP…but in his meteoric rise, he rose in strident speech too … making enemies of the established AIADMK and its chief Edappadi K Palaniswami. The internal warfare and jockeying were in full throttle. So when Annamalai lost the election in 2021, the AIADMK broke the BJP ties. Anticipating the need to keep the alliance going, Nainar Nagendran was made TN Chief. The BJP’s compulsion was to have a respectable presence in TN at any cost. Annamalai had to be downsized to please Edappadi. Now it is learnt BJP is making amends, TN in-charge Piyush Goyal has summoned Annamalai to party office to request him to enter the fray from a constituency of his choice. Will he? Annamalai is fired by the RSS ideology …this Knight is sure to find his place at the Round Table like Lancelot.
Trouble for the BJP-led Odisha government headed by Mohan Charan Majhi, in power for close to 21 months, never seems to be ending. The latest is the Opposition’s vociferous demand for the resignation of the state health minister over the death toll in the fire at SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack which rose to 13. Ten Opposition parties – Congress, BJD, CPI (M), All India Forward Block, NCP, RJD — and other regional outfits have come together in a rare display of unity against ruling BJP. Massive protest has been organised demanding resignation of Health Minister Nukesh Mahaling. The Majhi government has rejected the resignation demand of the health minister, even as it suspended four of its officials. Naveen Patnaik’s party, the BJD in alliance with the Congress, has made it clear that the protest and agitation are not being withdrawn until the health minister resigns on moral ground. Supporting its argument, BJD sighted the case of its Health Minister Atanu S Nayak who resigned over a similar tragedy in 2016 when BJD was in power. The BJP has turned the tables on BJD saying that because of lapses during their rule, of not making fire safety arrangements during their 24 years rule, the current accident took place.
This Assembly elections, the BJP has launched a focused outreach to women voters, crafting a candidate list featuring women activists and public figures to challenge West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s strong hold over the women vote bank. Over 15 years in power, Didi has built a strong rapport with women through welfare schemes such as Lakshmir Bhandar and Kanyashree. Notably, ahead of the elections, the TMC government increased monthly assistance under Lakshmir Bhandar. In a strategic shift, the BJP has fielded candidates directly associated with protests against alleged violence or injustice, particularly in cases linked to individuals associated with the ruling TMC. Ratna Debnath, mother of the RG Kar Hospital rape victim, has been fielded from Panihati. Rekha Patra, a key figure in the 2024 Sandeshkhali protests will contest from Hingalganj. Tumpa Kayal, known for leading protests after the 2013 Kamduni rape and murder case in North 24 Parganas, has joined the BJP. Together, Ratna, Rekha and Tumpa represent the BJP’s effort to foreground real-life experiences of violence against women and are expected to campaign across the state, including Bhabanipur, where Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari is contesting against Mamata. The BJP has also fielded women candidates such as actors Roopa Ganguly, Sarbori Mukherjee, Papiya Adhikary, and advocate Priyanka Tibrewal, who contested against Didi in the 2021 Bhabanipur bypoll after her defeat in Nandigram. Meanwhile, TMC has raised concerns over a reported drop of nearly 57 lakh women voters after the SIR. It claims numbers rose from 3.59 crore (2021) to 3.73 crore (2024), before falling to 3.16 crore (2026), alleging many women were marked “under adjudication” due to marriage, address, or surname changes, effectively excluding them and weakening participation.
Maratha reservation demand’s uncrowned king Manoj Jarange Patil is known for his stinging tongue. His two favourite targets are Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and NCP’s senior OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal. While attacking them, Jarange has crossed the limit occasionally and has had to apologise, too. As the intensity of the Maratha agitation is waning for a variety of reasons, Jarange has warned the government of staging a mass rally in Delhi to press the demand afresh. The protest action led by him in Mumbai a couple of weeks ago elicited a huge response but the government resolution issued subsequently is now mired in controversy. Hence, to keep the steam up, Jarange had organised a meeting of his close associates at his village, Antarwali Sarati. As the meet was underway at an open field, those present started running helter-skelter suddenly. The reason was that a swarm of honeybees had descended on the group, forcing the activists to abandon the discussion. Fortunately for Jarange, some of them had a shawl with them. They covered the leader and took him to a safer place. In the reconvened meeting, Jarange did not forget to warn Bhujbal in his trademark style. But the social media discussion centred on the poetic justice dispensed to Jarange. “If you bite others, beware of a fallout,” some suggested wryly.
The three-party Maharashtra government led by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is facing internal unrest over the Maratha reservation quota acrimony. Ever since a government resolution (GR) containing some assurances to Maratha agitation proponent Manoj Jarange Patil has been issued, the state is in turmoil since the sizable OBC communities have joined hands to rise against this decision. Veteran minister Chhagan Bhujbal has come out openly against the GR, warning of an OBC protest on the lines of the Maratha protest that had paralysed Mumbai. The situation turned grave on Friday as an OBC protester took his own life in Latur in Marathwada. Bhujbal and former minister Dhananjay Munde rushed to the bereaved family to console them. Bhujbal literally broke down, which was unlike his steely demeanour. The onlookers were speechless seeing his tears. The youth, Bharat Mahadeo Karad, committed suicide by jumping in the Manjara river. Bhujbal cancelled his scheduled tour to reach the family. Besides Bhujbal, senior minister Pankaja Munde, too, has demanded that the OBC reservation quota should not be touched. Fadnavis has time and again declared that it will not happen, but inflamed passions continue to erupt. On the other hand, Jarange has warned the government that he can launch another protest action if the assurances are not fulfilled by it. At the moment, it appears that neither side is ready to relent, indicating a protracted legal and political conflict over the thorny issue of reservations.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has emerged unscathed and stronger post the Maratha agitation that disrupted Mumbai and challenged his leadership. The Maratha stir for reservations was seen as an attempt to embarrass Fadnavis’ government and it did falter badly initially attracting even the ire of the Mumbai High Court. The Maratha stir did test the Mahayuti government’s resilience, its stability and coalition strength as fears arose about the stir being pitchforked to destabilise Fadnavis government on the verge of upcoming local self-government polls. The chief minister seemed to lack vocal support from his own coalition partners who clearly chose to weigh in with the politically influential Maratha lobby. The Opposition too was unsparing with its jibes. Supriya Sule of the NCP-SP chided him for having broken her party and her family, while Sharad Pawar kept pushing the ball to the Centre recommending amendments. But, Fadnavis managed to end the stir, bring Mumbai back to normalcy and save his own leadership by giving away very little; the demanded government resolution may not withstand legal scrutiny, suggest legal hawks. Fadnavis may have faltered in handling the stir but he did manage to end it well on his own terms. He refused to meet the agitators and went about attending to Amit Shah on his two-day visit, attending to his duties and even visiting Ganesh pandals in Mumbai during the stir. Fadnavis managed to take the credit for facilitating reservations for the Marathas while his Maratha deputies were relegated to the sidelines. While giving up his fast, Manoj Jarange Patil meekly did mention his wish to withdraw stir in front of the CM and two deputy CMs. He gave in after realizing the government was in no further mood to entertain him.
The protestors supporting Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil have started receiving more than just moral backing from parts of Maharashtra. After news became viral that a large number of them, who have come from across the state, were finding it difficult to find food and water, voluntary groups in the countryside have risen to the occasion. For instance, 5000 water bottles and over 10000 bhakris (jowar roti) were collected within three hours of a social call in Baramati, the Pawar clan’s hometown. The collection will go on till Jarange’s agitation for pressing the demand for reservations for the Maratha caste continues in Mumbai’s Azad Maidan. Women belonging to the Maratha Kranti Morcha are leading this initiative. ‘One tiffin from one house’ was the appeal made in Kopargaon in Ahilyanagar district. In response, bhakaris, rotis, groundnut chutney and water bottles started pouring in. Soon, a truckload of food and water was dispatched to Mumbai. The organisers said that people belonging to all castes and religions had contributed to this effort. The gesture is receiving compliments from all around. The paucity of food and water was felt since the turnout for the protest action was beyond anyone’s imagination. The rural folk, not familiar with Mumbai, started searching for food and water. Local eateries, overwhelmed by these crowds, downed their shutters as a precaution. When this was flashed by TV news channels, voluntary food mobilisation efforts took off, in a bid to support the agitation.
The unprecedented turnout in Mumbai from various parts of the state to back Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil has generated extreme political heat. His opponents have made allegations that the agitation triggered by the proponent of Maratha caste’s demand for reservations is actually aimed at destabilising the government of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The name of deputy CM Ajit Pawar has been dragged into this attack, which was launched by OBC leader Lakshman Hake. From the beginning Hake has been leading the opposition to Jarange’s agitation. The presence of a handful MLAs belonging to Pawar’s NCP at Jarange’s demonstration in south Mumbai on Friday has unsettled the OBC community. In a retort, OBC leaders have warned the government that they, too, will bring hordes of their supporters to Mumbai to rebut the stir started by Jarange. Reiterating his stand, Fadnavis said the agitations against his government were taking place since ‘resources’ were provided to them. He did not spell out any names but said, “We are committed to providing social justice and have already granted 10% reservation to the Maratha caste.” The gravity of Hake’s charge has increased since it concerns a Mahayuti partner, the NCP of Ajit Pawar. Although Hake has not elaborated on his statement, there is a caste undertone to it as the NCP is seen, by and large, a party of the Marathas. Incidentally, both deputy CMs of Maharashtra – Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar – are Marathas.
Over the past week, the electronic media coverage of Maharashtra has been hovering around just two topics. Firstly, the agitation launched by Manoj Jarange Patil to press the demand for granting reservations to his caste is the hottest issue. Secondly, a meeting between two Thackerays – Uddhav and Raj – has dominated the TV bulletins. The impact of the Trump Tariff, the footage of devastating floods, the destruction caused by incessant rains to the crops and all such subjects have been pushed to the backburner. Jarange monopolised the TV time in connection with his agitation, which is recurring many times over. Last year, too, he had come to Mumbai and went back after getting assurances from the government. Over the three years, he has done eight fasts unto death. As far as the Thackeray cousins are concerned, their second meet, which took place at Raj’s Shivaji Park residence, was constantly in the news, before, during and after. Pressing issues like the pitiable condition of roads, internal and highways, received scant coverage. Those active on Social Media have lambasted the TV Marathi channels for this situation. They have expressed chagrin since the matters concerning the nation have been ignored by the electronic media houses. The honchos administering the media have pleaded that it is their duty to reflect what is going on in the state so that public education is done. However, this defence has few takers.
A new political formation is shaping up in Maharashtra, indicating the possibility of a novel social engineering experiment. Maratha caste reservation’s chief proponent Manor Jarange Patil has roped in leaders from Dalit and Muslim communities to create this force, which he feels will impact the outcome in the coming assembly election. It is presumed that Dalit and Muslim voters had supported the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi for the Lok Sabha election, resulting in the ruling Mahayuti’s Waterloo. At the time, Jarange was given credit for this spectacular success of MVA in a few pockets in Marathwada. Now, he is trying to recreate the experiment on a larger scale. It will be called MMD, meaning Marathas, Muslims and Dalits. Jarange will declare the names of the candidates supported by MMD on Monday (Nov 3). Alarmed by this stance, his ardent opponents, the OBC leaders, have drawn up their own counter strategy. Their spokesman Lakshman Hake has announced that the OBCs, too, have prepared their own list and will reveal it soon after Jarange’s list is out. The list will identify Jarange’s supporter candidates and Hake will appeal to the voters to defeat them. The Marathas and the OBCs are two major vote banks in the state. The Muslims can decide the outcome in certain constituencies where their population exceeds 15%. On the other hand, the OBCs are considered sympathetic to the BJP. Jarange’s MMD equation was finalised after his meeting with Buddhist and Muslim clerics at his village in Beed district on October 31.
By pushing for a demand to raise the state quota for reservation limit to 75 %, Sharad Pawar has put the BJP in a quandary. Acceding to this demand could prove counterproductive for the BJP against its own OBC support base. The quota for reservation has upset the BJP core constituency of the other backward classes (OBC), which is upset at the Marathas wanting a share from their reservation pie and are vehemently opposing it. The BJP, which bore the brunt of the reservation agitation in the 2024 Lok Sabha results (won 9 out of the 28 seats in Maharashtra) had granted reservations for the Maratha community, hoping to woo the significant Maratha vote bank. Getting the Maratha Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, on their side, was also part of this strategy. Yet, now far from getting the Maratha support, it finds itself struggling to wriggle out of its repercussions. The Marathas continue to be upset with the BJP, particularly with its leader Devendra Fadnavis for not ensuring a legal-proof reservation insisting that only being added in the OBC bandwagon, could help withstand legal scrutiny. The Marathas anger for being lathi-charged and rioting cases against them not being withdrawn, also continues. Manoj Jarange Patil continues to spit fire on BJP and threatens to scuttle their chances in this election. Pawar, who himself has led Maharashtra four times as a CM, was clearly well aware of the pitfalls of yielding to reservations demands of Marathas, and managed to sidestep it during his regime. The wily Pawar seems to be having the last laugh for now.
Maratha caste reservation demand’s chief proponent Manoj Jarange Patil has now decided to wage a battle to ensure that loans of the farmers in the state are written off. Already hitting headlines for his various announcements about fielding candidates in most assembly constituencies in the state, Jarange has now announced that he will tour Maharashtra to mobilise support for securing support for the new demand. The stand taken by Jarange before the Lok Sabha election earlier this year had cost several seats to the ruling Mahayuti. Ever since, leaders of all political parties are treating every statement by Jarange with caution. In recent weeks, two former Maharashtra CMs called on Jarange “to enquire after his health.” While Ashok Chavan has recently joined the BJP, his successor CM Prithviraj Chavan is seen becoming active. His supporters feel that in case Maha Vikas Aghadi has a majority after the election, he can emerge as a consensus candidate. Though belonging to the Group– 23 earlier, Prithviraj has mended his fences with the Congress high command after Mallikarjun Kharge took over as AICC president. Though Jarange’s demand for the Maratha reservation is still entangled in a judicial battle, Jarange is becoming more and more intransigent by the day, sensing the political uncertainty. His next plan of action will be declared on 5 September.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde is emerging as an independent leader which even the might of the BJP has acceded to. Soon after Shinde assumed power two years back on June 30, 2022, it was largely believed that the Shinde’s faction of the Shiv Sena would eventually be made to merge with the BJP and the name and symbol would be wiped out. However, far from being wiped out, Shinde has kept the Sena flag so strong that the BJP has officially announced that Shinde would be leading the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance into the polls. Meanwhile, both his deputies — Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar — are busy struggling to retain their base within their own parties as they face power struggles from within. Fadnavis’ stature has witnessed sharp climb down post-Lok Sabha debacle while Ajit Pawar support base is being debilitated by an astute Sharad Pawar. The Manoj Jarange Patil-led Maratha agitation has further consolidated his position; any attempt to dislodge this Maratha CM would not be acceptable to the Maratha community. The BJP which suffered strong backlash from the Maratha community in the Lok Sabha poll would not want to antagonise Marathas at this stage. Shinde is also working on crafting his own individual brand. His strategy of tagging chief minister to the monthly stipend for women scheme — Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana — has resonated well with rural women who are flocking to government offices in large numbers. He also got the winning Indian Cricket team to visit the Maharashtra assembly, the posters for which bore the CM’s face along with his two deputies, rather than the faces of the popular cricketers.
Maharashtra is witnessing re-emergence of a new kind of leadership — the hunger strike leaders — who issue diktats and dictate terms to the state from stages while sitting on hunger strikes in distant districts. The trajectory of these new leaders, Manoj Jarange-Patil from Maratha agitation earlier and Laxman Hake representing the OBC agitation currently, follows a similar pattern. Both agitations are led by hitherto unknown activists sitting on a hunger strike suddenly catapulted to fame by ceaseless media coverage and threatening to dislodge established political leaders that go against them. And both seem backed up by invisible political forces with a clear agenda to polarise specific community vote banks beyond the splits and factions of political parties. While the Maratha agitation suddenly sprung up in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, the OBC agitation is picking up in the run-up to assembly polls. These new leaders seem to emulate the original hunger strike agitation leader — Anna Hazare who however fasted mainly against corruption and corrupt leaders. Incidentally, the Jarange Patil-led Maratha agitation inexplicably died down right before the LS polls soon after chief minister Eknath Shinde was heard claiming in a viral video that he would rein in Jarange Patil after state Congress chief Nana Patole complained that Jarange had got too big for his boots. Whether the OBC agitation follows this pattern, how it plays on hereon and its impact on the assembly polls, now remains to be seen.
Even as all political parties in Maharashtra gear up for the forthcoming assembly polls scheduled around October, a sharp split between the Marathas and the Other Backward Class (OBC) community threatens to distort the political atmosphere of Maharashtra. Bandhs, highway blockages, stone throwings, tyre burnings fuelled by vitriolic statements from new leaders emerging from hunger strike agitations have become the order of the day. The consolidation of the Maratha vote bank which began with the successful agitation by Manoj Jarange Patil and subsequently led to the defeat of leading OBC leaders in the recent Lok Sabha, has sparked a sharp reaction from the OBC community which is feeling threatened. The OBC community views the consolidation of Maratha vote bank as an attempt to gnaw into their reservations and political strength. The OBC leadership across many political parties is also consolidating itself with leaders like Pankaja Munde from the BJP, Dhananjay Munde and Chhagan Bhujbal from the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP with support offered by Vijay Waddetiwar, leader of opposition in assembly from the Congress and even Prakash Ambedkar from the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) finding a common cause. The BJP, which suffered the most due to the Maratha consolidation in the LS elections, has now thrown in its weight behind the OBC plank, mulling Rajya Sabha berth to Pankaja Munde, reclaiming Eknath Khadse and even offering encouraging signals to Chhagan Bhujbal. The BJP is now on a sticky wicket as it struggles to do a balancing act to not antagonise the Maratha vote bank while retaining support of the OBC.
Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil managed to show his political clout in the 18th Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra without putting up even a single candidate in the fray. The impact of the Maratha vote bank led to the almost wipe out of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance particularly from the Marathwada region, where it lost seven of the total eight seats. The Jarange Patil factor is also directly blamed for the defeat of Pankaja Munde, who hails from the Other Backward Class (OBC) community, due to polarisation of the caste factor. Munde’s convoy had to face black flags and even faced entry blockades from various villages due to the Maratha agitation. Bajrang Sonawane, from Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) who defeated Pankaja Munde, rushed to pay his respects to Jarange soon after his victory. Buoyed up by his role, Jarange has now announced that his party will now put up candidates from all communities in all the 288 constituencies in the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly polls if the government fails to expand reservation benefits for the Maratha community. He has also threatened to sit on an indefinite fast and rake up heat on the Maratha issue from June 8 onwards in preparation for the forthcoming crucial state polls. The re-emergence of Jarange Patil now threatens to affect the chances of the BJP across the state at a time when it is already facing a drastic slash down in the state from 23 seats to 9 Lok Sabha seats.
Manoj Jarange Patil has once again changed his tactics for the coming Lok Sabha election. Now, he says only one candidate should be fielded on behalf of the caste in each Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra. Moreover, he has clearly stated that such a candidate need not belong to the Maratha caste but should be a votary of the demand. Jarange’s decision was announced at a rally of the Maratha reservation demand’s supporters. Diluting his aggressive stand further, Jarange has said that for the Maratha community, the assembly election is more important than the Parliament’s election. ‘We will teach the government a lesson at that time,” he said while criticizing chief minister Eknath Shinde. Earlier, Jarange had threatened to derail the election process by fielding one Maratha candidate from each village so that the ballot paper would carry hundreds of names and EVMs would have to be replaced by printed ballot papers. However, given the heat generated by the LS election process, Jarange has been more or less ignored by the media to which he was sort of addicted. The selection of candidates by various political parties and their alliances and fronts has a clear imprint of caste considerations. Thus, the spirit generated by Jarange to press his demand for Maratha caste reservations has evaporated. His claim that his decision can impact the results in 18 LS constituencies is hence viewed with disbelief.
Maharashtra has muddled into chaos as the seat sharing process gets underway. Incidents of threats of rebellion, secret midnight parlays, allegations and accusations, bickerings, shifting to different parties and symbols have become the order of the day. The partial announcement of candidatures by parties has already muddled the coalition politics creating more chaos across the political spectrum in Maharashtra. So far, the BJP has announced candidatures for 20 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra, the Congress for 7, Uddhav Thackeray’s faction of Shiv Sena for 4, while the rest are still groping in the dark. The BJP’s announcements have been greeted with threats of rebellion and even demands for changing of candidate at Madha constituency by BJP veteran leader Naik Nimbalkar. Girish Mahajan, who was deputed there to cool down tempers with the influential Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil clan, was blocked from entering the area. At Raver constituency, the re-nomination of sitting MP Raksha Khadse led to dissenting voices from her own party members and family. Though a straight fight with sister-in-law Rohini Khadse, has been averted for now, the bad blood threatens to impact the BJP’s chances here. Jalgaon nominee Smita Wagh is also facing opposition. The candidature of sitting MP from Amravati, Navneet Rana, aligned to Devendra Fadnavis camp, is also stuck due to strong opposition by her Sena counterpart Anantrao Adusul. To add to the confusion Manoj Jarange Patil is planning to field Maratha candidates. Even the Dhangar community has demanded adequate representation failing which they have threatened to put up their own candidates. Even individual rebels like Vasant More, ex-MNS leader from Pune, are planning to play spoilsport.
‘Mission One Thousand’ is the brainchild of Maratha reservation demand’s exponent Manoj Jarange Patil, aimed at challenging the Lok Sabha election process by fielding a thousand candidates in some constituencies in Marathwada region of Maharashtra. Mobilization with this object has started, according to reports reaching the state election authorities. If the scheme becomes a reality, the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be unable to process the voting, as each machine has a limited capacity to show the number of candidates. In case ballot papers are decided to be used, each will run into a score of pages. Though these are mere possibilities at this stage, the eventuality can’t be overlooked. Sensing this, Dharashiv district collector and election officer Sachin Ombase has written to Maharashtra chief electoral officer S Chokkalingam about the probable challenge. Reports also suggest that some gram panchayats have passed resolutions to field two candidates from each village. Over 2000 candidates are being prepared to file nominations in Beed district. If similar steps are taken by supporters of the Maratha leaders elsewhere, the situation will be difficult to handle, officials fear. Moreover, Rs 30,000 will be reportedly raised for each candidate and messages have been sent to collect the funding from Maratha community members. Such a strategy, if it reaches its logical conclusion, will be the first in India’s electoral history. It will be interesting to watch how the Election Commission faces this imbroglio.
As the Maratha agitation in Maharashtra may have fizzled out, the political knives are out between Devendra Fadnavis and Sharad Pawar. The agitation was scuttled in the backdrop of allegations of financial kickbacks, secret midnight meetings and even conspiracies to kill Manoj Jarange Patil. While the BJP has fired all guns against the original Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar, accusing him of being the mastermind behind the agitation and even hinting that the conspiracy was managed from Rajesh Tope’s sugar factory, Sharad Pawar has dared that he has nothing to fear and that no phone calls were made from him. Tope admitted that he had simply provided food and water to agitators from his constituency. Jarange Patil has hinted that leaders from all political parties would stand exposed in the SIT investigation, sparking speculation that the agitation had the tacit support from blocks within both the ruling and the opposition fronts. The Eknath Shinde government has been accused of deliberately playing footsie with Jarange Pati. All parties may have unanimously voted for 10% reservation for the Marathas in a special session of the legislature on February 20, 2024, but the aftermath of the agitation has led to a bitter fall out between parties eyeing the politically powerful bloc of Maratha vote bank. This vote bank continues to be splintered across parties and political machinations have failed to consolidate it behind any particular political block.
Maratha reservation agitation’s icon Manoj Jarange Patil has abandoned his audacious plan to lead a march to the Mumbai residence of deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to press his demand. Already roasted by his former associates, chief minister Eknath Shinde’s stern warning to Jarange and his followers that they will face stringent action if they took law in their hand is believed to have resulted in his withdrawal of the march. Even Opposition parties, too, have indirectly expressed unhappiness over Jarange’s impossible demands, like asking the government to take and announce a decision within the next few hours. Now, his associate for 18 years, Baburao Walekar has charged that Jarange is hungry for publicity and had instigated his followers in the past to indulge in violence though keeping himself away from such acts. Walekar is the third leader to come out in the open against Jarange. The first was Abhay Baraskar, who is a noted Keertan exponent. He was followed by Sangeeta Wankhede, who became Jarange’s follower after he launched his agitation. She has alleged that Jarange was taking erratic decisions at the behest of a top NCP giant. Interestingly, Fadnavis had stated a day earlier that Jarange’s script resembled the statements of Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray. On Monday (Feb 26), Jarange has announced the end of his indefinite fast. The battle over Maratha reservations is expected to enter the precincts of judiciary soon.
The vexed reservation of the Maratha community, which the Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde was hoping to capitalise on, doesn’t seem to have gone well. Not only did it fail to halt the fast by Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil, it further upset him and he stated that the community had felt let down by the CM. “It clearly shows that the government doesn’t care much for the demands of the Maratha community,” he rued before announcing further intensification of his hunger strike and refusing treatment. The reservation issue has already been creating much unrest in the Marathwada region with bandhs and protests being part of the agitations playing out there. Analysts view the Maratha reservation issue as a box of false promises brought out before every election to woo the 28% Maratha electorate that is spread across all political parties. This was the third attempt by the Maharashtra government to promise reservations for the Maratha community, with earlier attempts being made by the Devendra Fadnavis government in 2018 and the Prithviraj Chauhan government in 2014. Each time the decisions were stuck down by the courts. Even Shinde is aware of this challenge and kept emphasising that this time, it should stand legal scrutiny, backed up as it was with data from an empirical survey from 1,58,20,264 households using computer assisted personal interviews. Even Jarange Patil is not convinced if it will stand in courts, and this fear could actually boomerang in the Lok Sabha polls.
The Maharashtra government has decided to cross the 50% reservation ceiling by granting 10% educational and governmental job reservation to the Maratha community. Already, the state’s total reservation is around 52%. Chief minister Eknath Shinde has said that 22 states in the country have crossed the ceiling so far. While moving a resolution to grant Maratha reservation, Shinde said the quota in Tamil Nadu was 69% whereas it was 75% in Bihar. The Maratha reservation demand was first raised in 1980. It was first granted in 2014 and then in 2018. While the first reservation was struck down by the Mumbai High Court, the second was rejected by the Supreme Court. Explaining this history, Shinde claimed that this time, the provision has been structured in such a manner that it will survive judicial scrutiny. He said nearly six lakh objections and suggestions have been received over the draft of the resolution, made public earlier. The Maratha reservation quantum, however, has been reducing in the state. While the 2014 reservation quota was recommended to be 16%, it was suggested by the High Court that the educational quota should be 12% and governmental job quota could be 13%. The reservation now will be 10%, if allowed by the court of law.
The Maratha reservation demand issue has now reached a critical stage as the Maharashtra government has reiterated that the reservation to the most influential community in the state will be granted by remaining within legal limitations and ensuring that it will not hurt the OBCs or any other section of society. Chief minister Eknath Shinde made this announcement as the fast-unto-death by Maratha reservation crusader Manoj Jarange Patil has warned the government of a mass agitation if the demand is not conceded in full. A moot point in his charter is that even ‘relatives’ of the caste members should be covered by the reservations. An extraordinary session of the legislature has been convened on 20 February to consider the demand and endorse it. It is bound to be stormy as the OBCs have again declared their determination to challenge the Maratha reservation, as and when it becomes law in the state. Already, the court has once struck down this reservation in the past. To ensure peace, Shinde has appealed to Jarange to call off his fast. On the other hand, the war of words between senior minister Chhagan Bhujbal, the OBC spokesman, and Jarange is becoming more and more abrasive. The state government will have to do a lot of tightrope walking in view of the elections taking place later this year on this sensitive issue.
Senior minister Chhagan Bhujbal is becoming the central point in the whirlwind scenario that is building up in Maharashtra over the state government’s decision to grant reservations to the Maratha caste due to his aggressive stance for protecting the OBC reservations. Chief minister Eknath Shinde and his two DCMs, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar have advised Bhujbal to ‘understand’ the government’s notification in this regard first before making any public statement. In retaliation for some Maratha leaders’ comments, Bhujbal has declared in front of his supporters that he will not hanker for a ministership if there is a choice between his post and his demand. In a bid to reinforce the BJP’s commitment towards the OBCs, Fadnavis has issued a veiled warning. He said he would approach the party leadership if an eventuality to threaten the OBC reservations ever arose. When Fadnavis was asked about Bhujbal’s statements, he merely said that Bhujbal needs to maintain restraint. He can discuss the matter in detail after both meet. Ajit Pawar, likewise, said it would be necessary to know Bhujbal’s exact grievance and what the government had offered. Perhaps unsettled after several quarters have alerted the Maratha community about the difficulties in the way of securing the reservations, the agitation leader, Manoj Jarange Patil has reiterated his determination to fight out till it is achieved. Both camps are finalising their strategy and are unrelenting about their stands.
The adept handling of the Manoj Jarange Patil-led Maratha agitation not only consolidates the position of chief minister Eknath Shinde but also marks the emergence of Shinde as the dark horse of Maharashtra politics. Shinde, who himself is a Maratha, could also benefit electorally from the politically strong Maratha vote bank, that has been the mainstay of the Pawars — both uncle Sharad and his nephew Ajit — as also the Congress. By successfully containing the agitation on the outskirts of Mumbai, the CM now finds himself one-up over his deputies, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, both of whom nurse ambitions to upstage him. And the backlash is already showing up. Fadnavis has already clarified that police cases will continue against arsonists who indulged in violence against policemen specifying that only courts were authorised to withdraw cases. Shinde had promised withdrawal of all police cases against Maratha activists. Fadnavis supporter advocate Gunaratne Sadavarte has also threatened to challenge the government reservation order in the courts. Chhagan Bhujbal from the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP has also criticised the draft notification from Shinde government terming the reservation as an eyewash that will not stand up to legal scrutiny. The agitation has successfully helped divert attention from Shinde and his team of 39 legislators being called as ‘traitors’ by Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena that kept Shinde on the defensive and threatened his electoral stakes. The agitation also helped divert attention from the negative effect of breaking two popular political parties — Shiv Sena and NCP for the BJP.
The Maratha caste’s demand for reservations, although granted by the Maharashtra government, will continue to dominate the state political scene for more time as two major issues are still unresolved. Firstly, there is a Supreme Court petition concerning the demand. The last hearing took place on 24 January but the outcome is yet not known. Perhaps more hearings could be needed. The fate of the reservations would be clear only after the Apex Court declares its verdict. Secondly, agitation leader Manoj Jarange Patil has been firm on his demand that all cases filed by the police in connection with the protest actions must be withdrawn forthwith. Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadanvis has made it clear that it will not be possible due to legalities involved. Offences like setting houses afire with family members inside, mounting attacks against the police or torching public property can’t be withdrawn unless permitted by court. But Fadnavis clarified that all other cases will be dropped, as promised by chief minister Eknath Shinde to Jarange. Meanwhile, certain experts have started criticising the CM, suggesting that he has taken the agitators for a ride as the state government is not empowered to give such a reservation at all. To complicate the matter, Jarange has threatened to start another fast unto death if the reservations do not materialise. The ruling side’s insistence that the OBC reservations would not be touched to accommodate the Maratha caste will pose new problems for the government, it is felt.
Countdown has begun to handle the situation arising in Mumbai with regard to the massive morcha which is entering the commercial capital of India to demand reservations for the influential Maratha caste. Lakhs of supporters under the leadership of Manoj Jarange Patil have expressed determination to secure reservation. On the other hand, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde has once again appealed to the morcha organisers to wait for a Maratha caste census report that is being prepared now. After receiving the findings, the matter will be discussed in the state legislature in February to fulfil the assurance to grant the reservation, he has reiterated. While the morcha has been peaceful, the unprecedented response it has been receiving along the way is astounding. Thousands of bhakris and tonnes of rice and vegetables are prepared by many families voluntarily to feed the marchers. On the outskirts of Mumbai, the Agriculture Produce Market Committee has reserved its sprawling premises in Navi Mumbai by keeping its operations closed for Thursday and Friday to accommodate the gathering. Huge police deployments along the route and in Mumbai have been posted to handle the large crowds. The Republic Day celebrations all over will be taking place below the shadow of the morcha. Alarmed by the prospect of taking a slice out of its reservation quota, the OBC community has started gathering its forces to counter the Maratha show of strength. Their next move is awaited.
The Maratha reservation demand is likely to snowball into a major law and order issue for the Maharashtra government since lakhs of supporters of the agitation leader, Manoj Jarange Patil, have been asked to reach Mumbai in a walking march which is to begin from Saturday, 20 January. Patil has declared that an indefinite fast will start from 26 January if the demand is not met by then. Chief minister Eknath Shinde’s appeal to Patil in particular and the Maratha community in general not to agitate has not evoked much response so far. While Patil is firm on staging the protest march and fasting, the government has continued its efforts to avert any alarming situation in Mumbai or anywhere else in the state. Shinde has repeatedly assured Patil that the government is positive towards the demand and would adopt an enactment accordingly in February in the legislature. He has reiterated his promise that the reservations for other sections of society would not be affected while granting a reservation for the Maratha caste, the most influential group in Maharashtra’s politics. In response, Patil has challenged the government to present the data about delivering the caste certificates to the Marathas as belonging to the Kunbi community. If the government claims that 54 lakh such entries have been found, let it come with the statistics of actual grant of certification, he has challenged.
As Maharashtra gears up for yet another political fast fest called by Manoj Jarange Patil, analysts can’t help drawing parallels with state’s another fasting icon — Anna Hazare. Maratha leader Jarange Patil call for an indefinite fast from January 20, 2024 onwards — his third since his last 17-day fast in September. Just like Jarange Patil, Hazare was also known to send shivers down the spine of governments with his call for fasts on various issues be it demanding Lokpal Bill or action against corrupt ministers or demanding stronger Right to Information (RTI) Act. Both attracted huge crowds and sustained media attention. Their fasts follow the same pattern — delegations of ministers turning up to negotiate terms and chief ministers turning up personally to end the fast by offering orange juice. This was true of Hazare who had the honours done for him by Devendra Fadnavis in 2018, a model followed by current CM Eknath Shinde for Jarange Patil in Jalna recently. Both were neither MPs, MLAs nor MLCs and yet managed to wield enough clout to get their way with the government of the day. Both gave distinct identity to their hometowns — Ralegan Siddhi (Hazare) and Antarwel Sarati (Jarange Patil). Anna Hazare’s famous fast at Jantar Mantar in Delhi had led to the birth of the Aam Aadmi Party that is now in power in two states. So far, Jarange Patil claims to have no political ambitions, but it now remains to be seen if his Maratha reservation movement will disrupt existing equations in state.
The Maratha reservation agitation issue has helped chief minister Eknath Shinde get one-up over his deputy and predecessor Devendra Fadnavis. Shinde’s political acumen has helped him win favour with Maratha leader Manoj Jarage Patil, who publicly proclaims that Shinde could be the only person who can make reservations for Marathas possible. Patil though reserves his ire against Fadnavis for creating unrest by ‘poisoning’ the minds of Maratha leaders and has even advised the BJP to expel him from the party and the state. Jarange is upset at Fadnavis for propping up Chhagan Bhujbal for challenging and consolidating the Other Backward Class (OBC) community against him. Jarange and Bhujbal have been involved in a bitter war of words that has stretched to personal lows. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s shift in stance that the Maratha community cannot be granted blanket reservation, has also upset Jarange, who claims that it was an assurance given to get him to withdraw from his 17-day hunger fast on the issue. Police cases against Jarange’s supporters for stone throwing against policemen, has further fuelled anger against Fadnavis, since he holds the home portfolio. While tendering his resignation, state backward class commission member BL Killarikar had claimed that Shinde was ready to conduct a large-scale survey of communities, but was opposed by Fadnavis. The Opposition believes that both the Maratha and OBC agitations are state-sponsored to divert attention from genuine issues affecting the state.
Firebrand OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal has stopped his morning strolls due to the perceived threat to his life. “I will be shot down, I have been warned by my people,” he has alleged in an interaction with the media. Bhujbal’s explosive speech in the Maharashtra legislative assembly on December 11 has gone viral as he has caught Maratha leaders in a cleft stick. “Tell me, do you want to be registered as a Kunbi,” he asked top legislators like Balasaheb Thorat, a powerful cooperative sugar Maratha baron. There was silence. For Marathas, accepting to be Kunabis means admitting that they belong to the OBCs, traditionally considered a rung down from Maharashtra’s ruling clans in the generational caste hierarchy. As Bhujbal is emerging as the sole OBC leader in the state, the verbal attacks against him are becoming sharper. Bhujbal has been championing the OBC cause for half a century and is perhaps the first mass leader to speak out openly against the Maratha domination, albeit in a veiled manner. Though he has repeatedly stated that he is not opposed to the Maratha demand for reservations, he has also made it clear that the OBC reservation quota must not be sliced to accommodate the Maratha caste in the reservation cover. Manoj Jarange Patil, who is leading the Maratha demand marches, has reiterated that the December 24 deadline for fulfilling the Maratha demand must be implemented at any cost. The state government is assessing the situation.
Firebrand OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal seems isolated over the Maratha reservation issue in Maharashtra, once again highlighting the fact that politicians can change their stand at the drop of a hat, without batting an eyelid. Bhujbal was supported by Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar over the OBCs’ determination that no curtailment would be permitted in their reservation quota to accommodate the Maratha reservation demand. Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Wadettiwar attended the first OBC rally, which was organised to express unity among various OBC beneficiaries of reservations. Wadettiwar was present although the Congress party has not taken any stand over the sensitive issue. He has been under attack from within the Congress for his various statements and also for supporting Bhujbal, fearing a backlash from the Maratha caste in the coming elections. Sensing the threat to his own position, Wadettiwar has now declared that he will never share a dais with Bhujbal. Maintaining that those in power are expected to resolve problems of the populace, Wadettiwar said it is patently wrong to poison the relationship between two sections of society in this battle for reservations. “Who will be responsible if lives are lost?” he thundered. Expectedly, his new stand has been welcomed by Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil, who is proceeding towards Mumbai to precipitate the matter by exerting pressure on the rulers.
A virtual war of attrition between the powerful Maratha caste and the Other Backward Class (OBC) population over the former’s demand for reservations is raging in Maharashtra, with both sides unwilling to budge from their firm positions. Suggestions that a share of the OBC reservations should be allotted to the Marathas has been vehemently rejected by National OBC Federation president Babanrao Taywade. On the other hand, his proposal that both sides should prevail upon the Centre to do away with the 50% reservation ceiling has been spurned by firebrand Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil, who has resumed his indefinite fast unto death. Patil had granted time to the state government to announce reservations for Marathas by the end of 24 October. As this did not happen, he restarted his fast, which he had suspended earlier following a firm assurance by chief minister Eknath Shinde that the reservation would be granted for the Marathas. Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis have airdashed to Delhi to discuss the matter with the BJP leadership. Their unscheduled visit became a topic of political speculation since another deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar, was not asked to accompany them. He feigned ignorance about this crucial visit. The explosive issue is expected to gain traction again in view of the impending general election next year.
TRENDS & VIEWS
Editor’s Note: Short Post Is Here To Stay…
Time, they say, flies—and how true that is. Here we are celebrating our 5th Anniversary. Five years ago, when Covid-19 was wreaking havoc across the globe, I took a leap of faith and launched Short Post, India’s first website for Authentic Gossip. That was on January 31, 2021. I was convinced there was a clear gap in the market for gossip that was credible, sharp, and impactful—especially if told in just 250 words.
In this, I was fortunate. Scores of senior editors across diverse verticals bought into the idea and, in the process, gave wings to my dream. Quite honestly, Short Post could not have crossed these milestones without the unflinching support of its contributing editors. Like all start-ups, we have seen our share of ups and downs, but these editors have stood by us like a rock. I take this opportunity to doff my hat to them.
Thanks to their commitment, we have published close to 5,000 stories spanning politics, business, entertainment, and sports. I say this with pride: we made our mark as people who matter read us. “Small packs, big impact” truly captures the essence of Short Post.
We all know that Covid-19 has reset businesses worldwide, and the media sector is no exception. In the post-Covid era, investors have become more cautious and selective—and advertisers too. To compound matters, the entry of AI has disrupted the media landscape in equal measure. So far, we have managed to hold our ground, hopeful that some angel investors will take a shine to us.
What gives me confidence is this: AI cannot smell news—especially the gossipy kind. In other words, AI cannot churn out Short Post-type stories, no matter the prompt. That puts us in a safe zone. As someone rightly said, “AI is a co-pilot, not a pilot.”