Maharashtra: Why rising OBC ire has Mahayuti alliance in a spot ahead of polls

After its below-par performance in the recently held Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, the Mahayuti alliance is now facing a new challenge in the form of OBCs.

With only four months left for the Assembly polls in the state, prominent leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) hailing from Other Backward Classes (OBCs) have started amplifying their demands before the state government.

While one of the major demands by community leaders is the conduct of a caste census, both on the state and national levels, OBCs want the state government to fulfil all the pending promises made to them before the Assembly polls.

The denial of a ticket to Parliament to prominent OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal by the Ajit Pawar faction of NCP, an ally of the BJP, is said to be an issue that may rile up the community, discouraging it from voting for the Mahayuti alliance.

Demand for state and nationwide census

While leaders from the OBC community have reiterated their demand for a state-wide caste census before the Eknath Shinde government, many have urged Prime Minister Narendra to step in, asking for a simultaneous conduct of a nationwide caste census.

“The problem with the OBC community is that we are not masters of our own destiny. We always rely on different political parties to agree to our demands. The day the OBC community becomes commanders of their destiny, we will not have to rely on any political party. We are supportive of the caste census demand and we will urge the state government of Maharashtra and also the Union government to conduct caste census nationally,” Mahadev Jankar, chief of Rashtriya Samaj Paksha, who contested the recent Lok Sabha elections from Parbhani with the help of BJP, told The Federal.

The demand for caste census is set to put the BJP in a spot as both its alliance partners – the Shiv Sena helmed by Eknath Shinde and the Ajit Pawar faction of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) – have supported the cause in the past and may have inclination towards it.

Ticket politics

Days after being denied a Rajya Sabha ticket, Maharashtra minister and senior NCP leader Bhujbal on Monday (June 18) demanded a nationwide census for the benefit of OBCs.

Speaking at a public meeting in Nashik, Bhujbal said members of the OBC community helped Prime Minister Modi to return to power for the third consecutive term and he should return the favour by conducting a caste-based census.

The denial of ticket to Bhujbal, a prominent OBC leader, by the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, the second time in less than two months, is said to be creating rumblings of dissatisfaction among the community.

During the Lok Sabha elections, Bhujbal openly demanded a Lok Sabha ticket from Nashik. But the ticket was instead given to the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena. Bhujbal again asked to be nominated for the sole Rajya Sabha seat from the state that fell vacant due to the resignation of NCP’s working president Praful Patel. However, his request was turned down by NCP chief Ajit Pawar who instead nominated his wife to the seat, leading to her unopposed win on Wednesday (June 19).

Is NCP risking OBC ire?

The denial of ticket to Bhujbal can create challenges not just for the NCP, but also for NDA because Bhujbal is the most prominent OBC leader in Maharashtra and helms the Akhil Bharatiya Mahatma Phule Samata Parishad, an organisation that works with OBC community members.

“It is obvious that people in the OBC community may not like a prominent leader like Chhagan Bhujbal being denied a ticket. It is possible that in the coming days, the party of Chagan Bhujbal can face the ire of people because of these repeated denials. There are OBC leaders in all political parties so we do not take a political stand in favour of any political party,” Ashish Taywade of Rashtriya OBC Mahasangh told The Federal.

Senior NDA leaders point out that Bhujbal has been openly taking an anti-alliance stand for the past few months and is the only prominent leader who has backed the protest by the OBC community against the demand for Maratha reservations.

OBCs demand their pound of flesh

With only months left for the Assembly polls, members of the OBC community have begun asserting their demands before the ruling coalition.

Members of the OBC community believe the state government must complete all the promises made to them before the Assembly polls.

“We have three straight demands from the Maharashtra government. It must not include the Maratha community in the OBC list because it will hamper the reservation benefits of the OBC community. The second demand is the promise of setting 72 hostels for both male and female students across Maharashtra so that more students can live in hostels and study. We are not a political organisation so we do not take sides but we will hold a nationwide meeting in Amritsar on August 7 to further our demands,” said Taywade.

Will OBCs have their way?

While the organisations working with the OBC community feel that they can put pressure on the state government to fulfill their demands ahead of the polls, NDA leaders of the OBC community feel these demands may not be met through this process.

“The question is of power. The OBC community does not have power in Maharashtra. Till the time the OBC community does not have political power, the demands will not be met. Once the OBC community has political power, these demands will become secondary because then the community will have the power to decide for itself,” said Jankar.

“I think just like in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar where the OBC community has its own political parties like Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal, till the time the community in Maharashtra does not have its own political party and leadership, it will always be seen as people who demand things from different political parties. It is important for the OBC community to have its own leadership and political party in Maharashtra,” he added.