A DELICATE BALANCE

Fadnavis's skilful moves have contained the Maratha reservation crisis. But, with the BJP's core OBC constituency sulking, truce may be temporary

- BY DNYANESH JATHAR

ON AUGUST 29, Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil marched into Mumbai with tens of thousands of supporters and began a fast-unto-death at Azad Maidan. It was his eighth such fast for Maratha reservation, and this time he declared that he would not return without it.

Within days, the city ground to a halt. Nearly 30,000 protesters poured into South Mumbai in thousands of vehicles, choking traffic, occupying public spaces, and even spilling into the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. The Bombay High Court rebuked the agitation for violating conditions and paralysing the city, calling Jarange Patil's earlier assurances "lip service". Judges complained that even their cars had been blocked. By the fifth day, Jarange Patil had stopped drinking water, vowing not to leave Mumbai "even if I die".

The government, caught between a restless Maratha community and its core OBC vote bank that was against ceding to the protesters' demands, scrambled for a solution. On September 3, the sixth day of the agitation, a cabinet subcommittee formed to look into the issue decided to accept six of Jarange Patil's eight demands, prompting him to end his fast. The accepted demands included recognition of the Hyderabad Gazetteer as the primary historical document for Marathas in Marathwada region to claim OBC status, withdrawal of all cases against Maratha activists, compensation and government jobs for the kin of those who died during the protests, and cancellation of fines imposed on vehicles used by the protesters.

Two demands remain pending: implementation of Satara, Pune and Aundh gazetteers—on which the government has sought a month's time—and recognition of Marathas and Kunbis as the same caste, for which the government has asked two months to study the legal aspects.