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In Maharashtra, Marathas are the largest community, comprising 28 percent of the state's population. OBCs include castes like Kunbis (seven percent), Malis (seven percent), and Vanjaris (six percent), with Muslim OBCs comprising 38 percent of the state's total population.

- BADRI NARAYAN

The Maharashtra assembly election is crucial for Maha Yuti (MY) and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in many senses. If Maha Yuti wins this election in Maharashtra, it will give the following message: firstly, the legacy of Hindutva mobilization is now solidly moving towards Mahayuti and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Secondly, PM Narendra Modi still has a charisma that may produce victories for the National Democratic Alliance and political parties aligned with it. Thirdly, various policies for the poor launched by the BJP government in the center and Maha Yuti in the state still work to retain beneficiaries in their favor.

This Maharashtra state assembly election 2024 will also be a litmus test for Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), especially for Shiv Sena (UBT), to see if they still hold sway over the Hindutva sentiment cultivated by Bala Saheb Thakre for a long time in Maharashtra politics. This election will also test whether, after Haryana, the Congress strategy of Dalit mobilization, based on the discourse on the danger to the constitution and reservation, still contains the potential for Dalit and Backward mobilization.

Like other elections in the country, caste matters in the Maharashtra election. Various contesting political parties are trying to woo various castes and communities by giving them representation in the distribution of tickets and making promises for their share in politics and the development of the state.