Fragmented voting blocs now united by caste — how quota stir could split OBC, Maratha votes

Jalna: As he made his way to the Bhogaon village in Maharashtras Parbhani district, Mahayuti candidate Mahadev Jankar, an OBC, was heckled by members of the Maratha community who asked what his government was doing to ensure reservation for Marathas...

Because of the Maratha protests by Manoj Jarange Patil, now there is polarisation amongst OBCs and Marathas in our villages, social worker and leader of Rashtriya OBC Mahasangh Balasaheb Dakhne told ThePrint...

Dakhnes native village, Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district, is where the demand for reservation for Marathas in the OBC quota picked up steam, with Jarange Patil as its face..

Residents of villages in and around Jalna told ThePrint that if they were to choose between two Maratha candidates, the community would pick the one most likely to help them get reservation in the OBC quota.To add to that, the OBC Bahujan party a political forum formed in November last year of OBC leaders from across Marathwada is fielding candidates in seats where both candidates from the alliances are Marathas...

It breaks my heart.. Bhaurao Patil from Malkapur village, added that before the Maratha quota stir, OBCs and Marathas sipped tea together in his village and invited each other to household gatherings..

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