Manoj Jarange Patil, an activist, a politician, or someone’s mouthpiece? There are various questions surrounding this particular reservation quota-based activist, particularly why he withdrew Maratha-backed candidates from the Maharashtra state assembly elections a few hours after announcing support for several candidates.
The sudden rise in stature of Manoj Jarange Patil has always been a point of suspicion in Maharashtra, however, the ‘Jarange Factor’ cannot be denied anymore. Sneaking into the activist’s background, Patil was born in the Beed district of Maharashtra and joined the Maratha reservation activism about 15 years ago. He also founded the Shivba Sanghatana which organizes protests for the reservation cause.
Without the support of any major Maratha leader, Jarange seems to have found some support from the grassroot Maratha community. From being just a face amongst a delegation to meet Chief Minister Eknath Shinde almost a year and a half ago, Jarange Patil led one of the loudest campaigns in the Maratha reservation movement.

However, despite all the momentum he gained, Jarange-Patil made a u-turn on his own words and withdrew all Maratha-backed candidates and said won’t support any other candidates. He also said that the Maratha community was free to vote for any candidate that supported the agitation. Now the question is with Jarange’s candidates out of the picture, who will benefit the most?
Win for Anti-BJP Factors
The rumor mill around Jarange-Patil has always been backed with NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar pulling the strings, who is always credited for his sudden rise. With Jarange-Patil pulling out of the race, there won’t be a divide between the Maratha vote, which would directly benefit the Maha Vikas Agadi.
Leaders from the NCP (SP) camp have been denying their involvement in Jarange’s decision stating that he had taken the right decision. They said, “We have nothing to do with his decision. If he had backed his candidates, the BJP would have benefited. He has taken the right decision.”
Relief For BJP?
With Manoj Jarange-Patil’s other U-turn, can the Bharatiya Janata Party especially Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis take a relief breath?
For the past 15 months, it seemed like the particular activist didn’t have anything to do with Eknath Shinde or Ajit Pawar (who are in alliance with BJP) but a personal beef with Devendra Fadnavis himself. Many BJP leaders have welcomed Jarange’s decision to withdraw and applauded it as sensible, healthy, and appropriate regarding his agitation.
In addition to the withdrawal, Jarange also mentioned that the community was free to back BJP leaders who supported the reservation demand. If one were to factor in the government’s developmental work and Shinde’s crown jewel ‘Laadki Bahin Yojana’, there can be a lean of Maratha voters towards the Mahayuti.
The Lok Sabha Affect
It wouldn’t be right to say that the Jarange factor didn’t affect the Mahayuti alliance despite having a Maratha chief minister in the Lok Sabha elections. The Marathwada region consists of a total of eight Lok Sabha seats from which Bharatiya Janata Party didn’t even retain one.
While playing the emotional card, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress won three seats respectively, while the NCP (Sharad Pawar) faction retained his daughter’s seat. Here Shiv Sena only won one seat. In 2019, the Mahayuti alliance won seven seats in Marathwada. The loss in 2024 can directly be connected to the Maratha agitation.
Jarange’s Multiple U-turns And Loss Of Relevancy
A few weeks ago, Manoj Jarange Patil announced that he would file nominations from every village that has a Maratha domination, which would’ve led to a mess in the electoral process.
On 3rd November Sunday, Patil indicated that he would release the names of candidates to back in several seats including, Beed, Jalna, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, and Pune. He said, “We will back candidates and wherever we do not back candidates, we will defeat those who oppose the Maratha reservation.”
However, a mere 12 hours later Jarange-Patil announced his withdrawal and said he wouldn’t back any candidates as they failed to send a list of names that were promised to him.
Jarange-Patil had also requested an alliance with Muslim and Dalit communities, which he couldn’t deliver. The reason said, “No caste can win an election on its own. We need support from the other communities.”
As the election campaigning intensifies, multiple U-turns by Jarange-Patil might lead to the loss of his relevancy. An activist turned politician doesn’t always work as Jarange doesn’t have any social standing except the Maratha agitation, nor does he have a party structure.
This adds to the rumors of Sharad Pawar’s puppetry as the Jarange factor was enough to cause a dent in Lok Sabha elections, and it would be enough to hurt the seats in the Maharashtra assembly elections.