He seems to be pulling crowd tho from the videos I have seen. The Media was kind to him as well.
Is there a chance this guy will raise the stink of Maratha reservation again? Or is he limited to a particular region of Maharashtra?
I have a belief that peope will eventually cribble less for reservation once private sector gives better opportunity and most gorimt sector are privatized. But for that to happen it must be made sure that no new castes are added to reservation list.
Maratha reservation is not a recent demand or development. It was a theme in the 2019 elections too . It didn't affect the results of both the state or central elections one bit . However DF passed an act last time ensuring reservations for the Maratha community which everyone knew would be struck down by the SC or in this case the HC which is exactly what happened .
Pawar's playing a dirty game trying to capitalise on the antagonism of the Maratha vs Brahmin castes ignited during British times by falsely highlighting how the Peshwas (Brahmins) usurped the Maratha throne by sidelining the Marathas namely the descendants of CSM . That played itself out most horribly in the massacre of Brahmins following Gandhi's assassination .
Like all dominant middle castes the Marathas are the landed gentry much like the Patidars in Gujarat , Reddys in AP / TLG , Jats in Haryana etc. Further there's not much clamour for govt jobs here given both the Pvt & co operative sector are strong though reservations in education could be an attraction.
Frankly this issue played itself out in the last elections itself. At best it may enjoy marginal support from the community . However this time there's been a severe backlash by other OBC groupings in whose quota the leadership of the Maratha reservation camp are asking for a sub quota . Nonetheless , the major theme as I mentioned before is the government being associated with the likes of Ajit Pawar & his associates.
Going by the last general election's results he turned out to be a massive disappointment much to everyone's surprise for he was supposed to dent the Pawar bastions considered impregnable given he was the man looking after operations in the NCP.
Otherwise his presence in the government makes no sense for he repels 10 of BJP's core voters for 1 vote he was supposed to fetch from the Pawar bastion. He should've been booted out the moment he failed to deliver. RSS too isn't too pleased with his presence in the coalition.
Let's hope his presence doesn't end up being the deal breaker for the Mahayuthi though on a personal note , I admit , if I vote for the BJP it'd be with a deep sense of unease only out of old loyalties. Most of BJP supporters in my group boycotted the general elections this summer for reasons given above & a few even voted the Congress led coalition.