Mumbai: Maratha leader Manoj Jarange-Patil said Saturday that he would neither field any candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections nor support any political party — a U-turn from his previous hints that he was considering propping up some Maratha candidates as Independents.
Speaking to the media at his Antarwali Sarathi village in Maharashtra’s Jalna, Jarange-Patil, who emerged as the face of the Maratha protest for reservation last year when he went on a hunger strike for it, indicated that while he had decided against fielding candidates this time, he was still open to the idea for the assembly elections to be held later this year.
Maharashtra will vote for its 48 parliamentary seats in five phases from 19 April to 20 May.
“According to the reports we received from villages, we have concluded that there’s no need to field (independent) candidates,” he said. “It is left to the community to decide whom to help defeat and whom to vote. We have no business speaking about politics and elections, but a decision had to be taken since there were recommendations (to fight the election) from (Marathas in) villages”.
These remarks mark a significant departure from his remarks made last week. Addressing a meeting on 24 March, the Maratha leader asked his caste kinsmen to help choose candidates for the polls.
Jarange-Patil’s decision could be a setback for Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of Dr B.R. Ambedkar whose Dalit outfit Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) had sought an alliance with the Maratha leader for the elections.
ThePrint has reached Ambedkar via calls and text messages. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Marathas are estimated to make up a significant 33 percent of the state’s population, and, according to Jarange-Patil, hold sway over 17-18 Lok Sabha seats.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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