Mumbai: In a major boost to Maha Vikas Agahdi, Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Monday announced that he would not back any candidates in the Assembly election. Jarange had earlier indicated that he was trying to forge an alliance with smaller allies representing Dalits and Muslims. He asked the aspirants from the Maratha community to withdraw their nominations before the Monday deadline ends. The move is likely to benefit the MVA as it would avoid division of anti-BJP votes.
Announcing his decision, Jarange said, “We cannot contest elections relying solely on one community. We had requested candidate lists from leaders of the Muslim and Dalit communities, but no response came. Thus, we have decided not to field candidates for this election.”
Interestingly, the quota activist had held a press conference at 11pm on Sunday and vowed to teach a lesson to “those who opposed Maratha reservation” in the Assembly election. Though he did not name any political party, it was obvious that he was talking about the BJP as he has accused the saffron party of denying reservation to the Maratha community.
In the press conference, Jarange said, “We will back candidates and wherever we do not back candidates, we will defeat those who oppose Maratha reservation.”
However, Jarange took a U-turn on his announcement within nine hours. He had denied that he changed his decision under pressure and claimed it was his “ganimi kaava” (guerilla tactic used by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj).
“In a meeting, we had unanimously decided to field candidates. We waited till 3am for the lists of candidates from our alliance partners, but there was no response. Therefore we have decided not to support any candidate. It is not a U-turn, but you can say it is part of our strategy,” Jarange said.
In the Lok Sabha election, Jarange was one of the major factors behind the debacle of BJP and its alliance partners in Maharashtra. Political observers believe that had he fielded or supported candidates, it would have split the Maratha, Dalit and Muslim votes, which would have benefited the BJP-led Mahayuti.
Expressing his satisfaction over Jarange’s decision, NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar said, “There is no connection between Maha Vikas Aghadi and Jarange. But, I am glad he made this decision, as fielding candidates would have clearly benefited BJP.”
BJP leader Pravin Darekar also welcomed Jarange’s decision not to field candidates. “He has taken the right decision as his agitation was getting politicised,” he said.
The BJP leader also said that Jarange had to change his stand because his decision to form an alliance with parties like AIMIM was not appreciated by the Maratha community.
