Maratha quota agitation could enter MP election campaign

While the movement regarding the Maratha reservation is going on in Maharashtra bordering Madhya Pradesh, it can arise in Madhya Pradesh too impacting upcoming assembly polls. The ongoing Maratha reservation movement in Maharashtra has increased the tensions among political parties here in MP also.

The assembly election process is going on in Madhya Pradesh these days. A large number of Marathi-speaking people reside in the state, in cities like Indore, Gwalior and the districts adjoining Maharashtra, Chhindwara, Balaghat, Betul, Pandurna and Burhanpur.

In such a situation, political parties fear that the fire of reservation that arose from Maharashtra might reach Madhya Pradesh. Because it may impact the elections. However, both the big parties the BJP and the Congress seem to be avoiding saying anything openly in this entire matter.

The issue of reservation itself had spoiled BJP’s calculations in the 2018 assembly elections. In such a situation, if the issue of reservation resonates once again, then difficulties may increase for political parties. There is an agitation in Maharashtra regarding the Maratha reservation.

The agitation has been going on since October 24 under the leadership of Manoj Jarange, founder and social worker of an organisation called Shivba. This movement has taken violent form in many places in Maharashtra. There are reports that the agitators have also vandalised and set fire to the residences of many MLAs and government buildings.

Services like internet are also affected in many districts of the state. This movement originally started with a hunger strike on August 29 in Jalna district demanding reservations for the Maratha community. However, this demand is an old one that has been raised for a long time.