Maratha Quota Activist Manoj Jarange Pulls Out Of Maharashtra Elections Day After Vowing 'Revenge'

Manoj Jarange Patil, the activist leading the Maratha quota stir, on Monday declared that he will not contest the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly election and has asked his candidates to withdraw their nominations. Jarange's u-turn came a day after he had vowed revenge on the Mahayuti, led by BJP, for refusing reservation to the Maratha community. The activist however reaffirmed his commitment towards securing quota for the Maratha community under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

Jarange had earlier said that his candidates would contest wherever the community had a good number of voters. However, addressing the media in Antarwali Sarathi village on Monday, he declared that he would not contest as he felt that only one issue was not reason enough to contest polls. Monday, November 4, is the last day for the withdrawal of nominations for the Maharashtra polls.

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"We held discussion with our allies. Our team met, and it was decided not to field candidates," Jarange Patil said at a news conference. "You cannot win elections just depending on one community," he added. However, Patil affirmed that the fight for the Maratha reservation will still continue and appealed to his candidates to withdraw the nominations. "We will do a major job in the elections, not Manoj Jarange Patil but the Maratha community. Apply your discretion on whom to defeat and whom to elect," Jarange said.

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Jarange stated that he was not pressured for his decision not to contest the polls. "I have told my community that this is not our family business; we might be misled," Jarange was quoted as saying by the Indian Express. "There is no pressure on me," he added. Jarange emphasised that they needed support from other parties to contest polls, and even national parties need alliance partners. "We cannot contest elections on the basis of one party. Even a party like the BJP needed support from two other parties to run," he said. 

Jarange further said that he will not endorse any candidate, nor will he appeal to the community to vote against any particular political party. He said that it was the community's decision to vote for the choice of their candidates. "I do not want to direct the Maratha community to defeat any candidates… The community has to take a decision in this regard," he said.