Setback for MVA government

Surendra P Gangan and Swapnil Rawal

MUMBAI: The striking down of the quota for the Maratha community in Maharashtra could prove to be a major setback for the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has blamed the MVA for failing to secure the reservation provided by the former government, could use the unrest in the community against the ruling coalition, say political experts.

CM Uddhav Thackeray will be writing to President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “I am requesting the PM and President to take a decision on Maratha reservation as the Supreme Court has also acknowledged that it comes under their authority. Tomorrow, I will be writing a letter to them on the same and also ready to meet them, if required,” Thackeray said, in his address on social media platforms on Wednesday evening.

The Marathas traditionally rallied with the Congress-NCP, but that changed in the 2014 Assembly polls. The BJP and Sena dominated the western and central Maharashtra (which has a strong Maratha population), even though they contested separately. It is assumed that in the 2019 Assembly polls, the community helped the NCP bounce back as the party won a majority of its 56 seats in western Maharashtra and adjoining areas. The three parties now face the risk of losing some of the support base, if they fail to find a way to retain the quota granted by the Fadnavis government.