If one asks what currently rules the minds of politicians, people’s representatives such as MLAs, MPs and even ministers in Maharashtra just about 100 days ahead of the all-important Assembly polls, there is only one answer — it’s the caste factor. Unfortunately Maharashtra today is trapped in a state of extreme caste polarisation and every single issue in the state currently is viewed from the prism of this polarisation. Politicians are now preparing to finalise their candidate list for the assembly polls and there too, what dominates as the single biggest factor is the candidate’s caste!
An Indian Administrative Service (IAS) probationary officer from Maharashtra cadre, Pooja Khedkar, is in the headlines currently for allegations over her certificates submitted to the UPSC. The government has installed a committee to investigate the matter but even before anything gets established in this case, there is rage in social media based on the caste divide. Maharashtra has witnessed long and sustained agitation by certain Maratha leaders demanding reservation for the Maratha community in education and jobs. The agitations are widespread and are attracting lakhs of people. Even on the Pooja Khedkar issue, since she has submitted certification about being from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) there is huge debate on social media and in Maratha rallies demanding an investigation into why a “non-creamy layer” certificate was issued to her despite her being seemingly from a very affluent family. The debate in social media and at Maratha rallies has focused on the caste issue in this matter too.
Just a couple of days ago, OBC leader and Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Chhagan Bhujbal met NCP founder Sharad Pawar to reportedly talk about the caste polarisation in the state and how it would affect politics in the coming weeks ahead of the polls. Every political party is now thinking of how the Maratha agitation will affect their prospects in the elections and how they can hedge the risks that lie ahead. It’s not that any particular constituency of the state assembly consists of voters from only one particular caste. Barring some very few examples of caste concentration the state has all communities spread out in all 288 constituencies of the state assembly. Leaders have to now think very carefully how caste combinations will operate as it was seen that in many regions of the state voting happened mainly on caste lines.
In Marathwada region of Maharashtra where Manoj Jarange-Patil’s reservation agitation originated it was obvious that the BJP suffered losses mainly because of the Maratha vote going against it. BJP was always seen as a party that worked a lot to cultivate the OBC community. RSS ideologue Vasantrao Bhagwat who was BJP leader Pramod Mahajan’s political guru devised the MADHAV (taking the Mali Dhangar Vanjari castes along) formula for the BJP. This resulted in leaders like Gopinath Munde, Anna Dange and Pandurang Phundkar getting prominent positions in the party. However now there seems to be a backlash among the Maratha community which somehow feels that the OBCs were favoured by the BJP and the Marathas were allegedly “left behind”. And the BJP is wondering how to counter this challenge!
It is really surprising that the BJP which many observers describe as the “perfect election winning machine” has not factored in the possible impact of this wave of Maratha agitation in the state and does not seem to have a “Maratha face” with a pan-Maharashtra appeal in the party itself. The party has to now depend on CM Eknath Shinde’s face to show the people that they have representation for the Marathas in power. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced several times that the BJP led Mahayuti will fight the state assembly polls under the leadership of Eknath Shinde. This is obviously because the party wants to portray that it is not a party that cultivated only the OBCs over the past three decades.
It is obvious that even the Congress and NCP would be focusing mainly on the caste factor before finalising their candidate lists this time around. There is no way they can ignore this all important factor before releasing their candidate lists ahead of the assembly polls. Top leaders of all parties may keep saying in their election rallies that they will fight the elections on the basis of development related issues but the fact is that what rules their minds is only the “caste factor”.
Rohit Chandavarkar is a senior journalist who has worked for 31 years with various leading newspaper brands and television channels in Mumbai and Pune
