Suresh Patil, one of the convenors of the ‘Maratha Kranti Morcha’, on Thursday floated his own political outfit with the sole aim of securing reservation for the Maratha community.
The launch, which took place at the historic Raireshwar Temple in Bhor taluk, 85 km from Pune, came under fire from other Morcha leaders who are strongly opposed to the formation of a political party.
Maharashtra Kranti Sena
Mr. Patil named his party ‘Maharashtra Kranti Sena’ as other Morcha coordinators issued appeals to community members not to support any party using the word ‘Maratha’ in its name. He also claimed the backing of Nationalist Congress Party MP Udayanraje Bhosale, an important Maratha leader from Satara.
Mr. Patil further said the nascent party would contest five seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
Leaders within the Maratha Kranti Morcha and the Sakal Maratha Samaj — the two umbrella outfits spearheading the quota agitation — distanced themselves from Mr. Patil’s new party hours after its launch.
Morcha coordinators from Mumbai, led by Mahesh Rane, protested near the Raireshwar Temple while other Maratha community leaders from Pune, Nashik and Aurangabad disclaimed Mr. Patil’s association with the two umbrella organisations that have played a critical role in mobilising the community.
They dubbed Mr. Patil "an agent provocateur, acting on behalf of the ruling party" and accused him of sowing discord within the pro-quota stir before the elections.
“He [Mr. Patil] is nothing but an agent of the ruling BJP who has been deliberately unleashed with the objective to break the Maratha agitation for reservation,” said Mr. Rane, speaking to The Hindu.
Remarking on Mr. Patil’s “close ties” with senior BJP leader and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Shantaram Kunjir, a Morcha coordinator from Pune. said that Mr. Patil’s contribution had been “minimal” throughout the quota agitation movement that had been characterised by collective decision-making.
“Right from the start we were resolute that the ‘Maratha Kranti Morcha’ will not transform into a political outfit lead by individuals trying to hog the limelight and seek political gains,” Mr. Kunjir said, pointing out that the Maratha agitation had always been unique in the sense that it had no formal political leader or party at its helm.
In Nashik, Morcha leaders accused Mr. Patil of piggybacking on the movement’s popularity for his selfish gains.
Praveen Gaikwad, a prominent community leader, said that the move [of floating a political party] would benefit the BJP government as it sought to isolate and divide the Maratha community.
