In acceding to six of the eight demands of the Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil, which allowed him to claim victory and thousands of his followers to celebrate, the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis went farther than its predecessors but, ironically, cannot claim complete credit or leverage it politically—yet. This stems from the fact that in granting some of Patil’s demands, such as implementing the Hyderabad Gazette (1909), the Satara Gazette (1884), and the Pune-Aundh Gazette to facilitate Kunbi certificates for the Marathas in the OBC category, and issuing a Government Resolution specifying the process based on the 58 lakh records found, the Fadnavis-led three-party government has riled the OBCs and their leaders, including Chhagan Bhujbal, a cabinet minister.

Fadnavis would not want a Maratha-versus-OBC formation, given the overwhelming electoral influence of both he asserted that his government will not let a dispute happen but this is far easier said than done. The government would have to brace itself for a degree of backlash from the OBCs. Maintaining peace between the two powerful sections and coming good on the assurances made to Jarange Patil on Tuesday will call for deft handling of competing demands, time sensitivity, political smarts, and leveraging personal equations across the political, social, and academic realms. The road ahead is more........

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