To appease OBCs and Marathas over the reservation issue is a difficult task for the Shinde-Fadnavis administration

The Shinde-Fadnavis administration faces a significant political challenge in maintaining good relations with the powerful OBC and Maratha communities, both of which have adopted an aggressive stance on the reservation issue. The Dedicated Commission on OBCs' finding that the state has a 37 percent OBC population and its recommendation for a 27 percent political reservation to the community in local bodies served as the catalyst.

 

When determining the OBC quota, the district is advised to be used it as the unit of population estimation. However, the population quantum is taken into account for the overall state when it comes to employment and education. As a result, the Maratha community has requested at least 12 percent of the 32 percent quota already allocated to OBC categories, despite the fact that they only qualify for 18.5 percent. According to the Dedicated Commission's report, this represents 50% of the population of OBCs, who make up 37% of the population.

 

The Maratha community also insists that they should be added to the list of existing OBC reservations within the existing 32 percent if the government is unable to grant them an 18.5 percent quota. The BJP government gave the Maratha community a 12% quota in education and a 13% quota in employment under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) category, but the Supreme Court later eliminated it on the grounds that no exceptional circumstances or situation existed in the Maratha community.

 

Chhagan Bhujbal and Vijay Wadettiwar, two prominent OBC leaders, have objected to the Dedicated Commission's finding that the population is 37 percent OBC, claiming that this will negatively affect their quota in services and education. They have stated clearly that they will continue to call for the reinstatement of the 27 percent political reservation in local bodies as suggested by the Dedicated Commission, but they are concerned about the reduction in quota in employment and education because the OBC population is listed as 37 percent in its report.

 

However, according to reservation expert Balasaheb Sarate, the reservation allotted to OBCs in the majority of the states represents roughly half of their overall population share in those states. However, Maharashtra is the only state where OBCs receives about 100% of their population's share of reservations.

 

 

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