Mumbai, Nov 28 (PTI) Activist Manoj Jarange on Friday said those who opposed reservation for the Marathas in jobs and education should not receive votes in the ensuing local body elections in Maharashtra, asserting the community would not forgive leaders who stood against its demands.
Jarange, who spearheaded multiple rounds of agitation for quota for Marathas under the OBC category, noted that after achieving “victory” on the reservation front, community youth should now focus on becoming entrepreneurs.
“We will not let anyone who opposed the Maratha reservation win. They must be defeated, only then will they understand the strength of the Maratha community,” the 43-year-old activist told reporters outside the Mumbai airport.
“I am not afraid of threats. Some say they will run a vehicle over me, but I am not alone. Wherever I go in Maharashtra, my people are with me,” he asserted.
Jarange arrived in Mumbai for the inauguration of the ‘Maratha Business Conclave 2025’.
Speaking before the event, he said the struggle for reservation had succeeded and the next phase should focus on entrepreneurship.
“We have won the battle for reservation, but now our youth must become entrepreneurs,” he said.
Jarange maintained he would not give instructions to aspiring businesspersons but learn from those who had already succeeded in the field.
He expressed confidence that some of the community’s pending demands would be fulfilled soon.
“The commitments made to us will also be completed. Elections are underway, so there has been a delay,” he said.
Jarange, who has emerged as a key face of the Maratha agitation in the last couple of years, earlier led major protests in Mumbai, including a prolonged hunger strike at Azad Maidan in August-September this year.
Following intense pressure, the state government issued a government resolution (GR) affirming its commitment to Maratha quota.
During the agitation, several OBC leaders, including senior politician and NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal, publicly opposed granting reservation to the Maratha community under the Other Backward Classes category.
Elections to 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats are scheduled to be held on December 2, and the votes will be counted on December 3.
The first round of polling will be followed by polls to 336 Panchayat Samitis, 32 Zilla Parishads and 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai — the schedule for which is yet to be announced by the State Election Commission. PTI ND RSY
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