Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan meets Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil
Jalna: Congress leader and former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Thursday met Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil here in the backdrop of the latter’s announcement that his organisation would contest the upcoming State Assembly polls.
This has triggered speculations in political circles. Jarange Patil appealed to community members to defeat the Maha Yuti candidates in the Lok Sabha elections. This had its impact in Marathwada and seven out of eight seats were lost by the ruling combine. The opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) won the seats.
However, Jarange Patil has now announced that their social organisation will field candidates in the State polls. This has given jitters to both rival alliances, Maha Yuti and MVA, in the State.
The MVA has realised that if Jarange Patil fields his candidates, the MVA may receive a big setback due to division of votes. Considering this, people are curious to know what happens next in the State.
Jarange Patil’s stance
Manoj Jarange Patil recently said, “The number of aspirants is growing. The deadline will be extended by 3-4 days. Most of them are from western Maharashtra. Some ministers, former MPs, MLAs are in touch. Unless the downtrodden join the government, nothing will happen. If you do not grant the reservations, we do not have an option but to join politics.”
Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati recently met Jarange Patil at Antarwali Sarati. They had a 3-hour long discussion.
