Jarange has repeatedly targeted the BJP warning that the community would defeat its candidates in the assembly polls, which will be held on November 20.
The health condition of Maratha quota agitation spearhead Manoj Jarange, whose indefinite fast continued on the fifth day on Wednesday, deteriorated and he was given intravenous (IV) fluids when he was asleep during the protest, an activist close to him said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday and discussed issues related to the Maratha reservation, pending GST compensation and the proposed Metro car shed in Kanjur.
'If a Brahmin child by birth is poor then he must get reservation benefits rather than an OBC child who is rich and born in a rich family.'
Union minister Narayan Rane has opposed the Maharashtra government's decision to issue Kunbi caste certificates to the Maratha community members and said 'proud Marathas' would not want to be included in that caste segment to avail reservation benefits.
He also termed the draft notification issued by the state government providing Kunbi certificates to all Marathas as a mere 'eyewash', and said caste is determined by birth and not affidavits.
The protesters, led by Manoj Jarange, had been staging a hunger strike demanding reservation for the Maratha community at the village since Tuesday.
Various Maratha organisations had held massive 'silent marches' across the state last year for various demands, including reservation.
Jarange is a strident critic of the senior BJP leader and has routinely accused him of being the main obstacle in the Maratha community's quest for reservations.
The poll aspirants who feel threatened are seeking to garner sympathy from their voters by meeting influential leaders like Jarange in the Marathwada region
'Those who have wronged or harassed the Maratha community should be taught a lesson through the ballot'
Maharashtra cabinet minister Chhagan Bhujbal has demanded a stay on the Kunbi caste certificates issued to Marathas following their latest agitation for reservation and scrapping of the Justice (retired) Sandeep Shinde committee formed over the quota issue.
Earlier attempts by the state governments to introduce the reservation for Marathas have been struck down by courts.
The Bombay High Court on Friday stayed implementation of the controversial decision of the erstwhile Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government in Maharashtra to provide reservation to Marathas in government jobs and educational institutions announced ahead of the state assembly election.
If the Thackerays don't save a Marathi school in their backyard, who will, wonders Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
The Bombay High Court has directed activist Manoj Jarange and his supporters, who are staging an agitation demanding reservation for the Maratha community, to vacate Azad Maidan in Mumbai by 3 pm or face action.
Talking about the demand for renaming Churchgate station, Shendage asked, "There is neither any church nor any gate here, so why retain the name Churchgate?"
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Sunday refuted talk of his stir not being a factor in the Maharashtra assembly polls, which were swept by the Mahayuti comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party.
The disclosure by Chhagan Bhujbal that he resigned as a minister last November has put a focus on the Maratha quota tightrope the Eknath Shinde-led government is walking amid restlessness in OBCs, with Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray claiming Bhujbal and the Bharatiya Janata Party are hand in glove.
'The problem lies in the popular perception that the Marathas are a rich, politically powerful and dominant caste in the state... The truth is different. The tragedy of this community is that only 137 Maratha families are the dominant players in state politics. The disparity is so wide, that the rest of the Maratha community isn't even half as rich, forget being powerful,' says N Suresh.
Activist Manoj Jarange, who has been sitting on an indefinite fast in Maharashtra's Jalna district over the demand for reservation to the Maratha community, has refused to get a health check-up done.
Patil said Shinde during his Dussehra speech at Azad Maidan in Mumbai assured the community of reservation.
The Maratha community should get reservation, but it should be done without disturbing the existing quota of other communities, the senior Nationalist Congress Party leader said.
Activist Manoj Jarange on Monday announced he was withdrawing his 17-day-old fast undertaken over the Maratha quota issue, but insisted he would continue his agitation until the Maharashtra government starts issuing Kunbi caste certificates to extended family members of people already having such documents, thereby allowing them to avail of reservation benefits.
The decision comes a day after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said a government-appointed committee scrutinised 1.72 crore old documents (including those of Nizam-era) and among them, 11,530 records were found where Kunbi caste was mentioned.
Fasting quota activist Manoj Jarange on Monday sought reservation for the Maratha community in entire Maharashtra and not in specific regions and warned the ongoing agitation will be ratcheted up if the demand was not fulfilled by the state government.
The girl mentioned in the note that she had secured 89 per cent marks in her Class 10 exams held earlier this year, but could not get admission under a category where her family could have paid less fees, Sanas said.
Amid a fresh wave of protests in Maharashtra over the Maratha quota demand, authorities in Dharashiv district of the state on Wednesday started distributing Kunbi caste certificates to the eligible Maratha community members, paving the way for their inclusion in the OBC category.
'The BJP, already falling short of a strong OBC leader from Maharashtra, will be more than happy to welcome Chhagan Bhujbal in its fold.'
Pawar said he has all the respect for the OBC community, but he does not want to hide the caste he was born in.
Maratha outfits have announced that a mega rally will be held in Mumbai on August 9 in support of their quota demand.
The apex court said that status of those who have already taken benefits of the 2018 law shall not be disturbed.
Chavan said the Mahayuti and BJP's policy was Viksit Bharat and Viksit Maharashtra, as spelt out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It fixed March 17 to hear at length a batch of pleas filed for and against the Maratha quota.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Thursday ended his nine-day-old indefinite fast, but warned of a bigger agitation if no action was taken in two months on giving reservation benefits to the community.
The Maharashtra government on Thursday said that it would like to have reservation for the Maratha community as early as possible even as a committee headed by Industry Minister Narayan Rane is studying the issue.
A Public Interest Litigation filed in the Bombay High Court has sought to restrain Maharashtra government from extending benefits of reservation to the Maratha community except by following the "due legal procedure".
Shinde announced that his government is committed to providing reservation to the Maratha community.
The development comes in the wake of an indefinite hunger strike launched by activist Manoj Jarange in Jalna district on Wednesday to demand reservation for the Maratha community.
Jarange, whose hunger strike at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district for reservation for the community in government jobs and education entered 12th day, also rejected the fresh outcome of talks held with a delegation of Maratha community leaders and the government late on Friday night in Mumbai.
