Maratha quota protest leader Manoj Jarange Patil on Friday indicated that supporters would march to Mumbai, as his hunger strike in Jalna entered its 14th day and pressure mounted on the Maharashtra government ahead of a formal announcement expected on September 12.
Speaking from the protest site at Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district, Jarange said, “We will go to Mumbai,” according to Navbharat Times. He said the details of the proposed march would be announced on Saturday. The development comes before the Ganesh festival, when large gatherings and movement across Maharashtra typically place additional demands on civic and transport systems.
Jarange said he was not waiting for a government delegation to arrive at the protest site. Instead, he said supporters were gathering and that the next step would be decided after consultations among them. The report did not specify the proposed route, the expected number of participants or whether authorities had issued permissions for a march to Mumbai.
The protest centres on the demand that eligible members of the Maratha community receive Kunbi certificates on the basis of entries in the Hyderabad and Satara gazette records. Protest representatives have also demanded that certificates issued under the process be validated rather than cancelled. The demand is connected to access to reservation under the Other Backward Classes category for members who meet the relevant eligibility requirements.
Maharashtra ministers said the government was working to address the issue before September 12. Minister Uday Samant said the administration was taking steps to resolve the matter before the expected announcement. Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said camps had been established to simplify the certificate process. He said the steps were being taken under the government’s standard operating procedures for providing reservation through the OBC category.
The government’s response places district-level certificate administration at the centre of the dispute. The process involves examining records, determining eligibility and issuing or validating certificates. The report did not provide the number of certificates issued through the camps, the number of applications received or the areas in which the camps were operating.
The possible shift of the protest from Jalna to Mumbai could bring the issue into the state capital, where any large mobilisation would have implications for traffic management, policing and public movement. However, the date, scale and route of the proposed march had not been formally announced in the material available for this report.
Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janata Party, met Jarange at the protest site and shared photographs of the meeting on X. Dipke said he had asked Jarange to withdraw his hunger strike and focus on his health. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut also visited or spoke from the protest area, according to the report, and alleged that the government was using Jarange for political benefit. The allegation was not independently established in the report.
Jarange had earlier accused Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, chairman of the Maratha quota sub-committee, of misleading the community. The immediate next step is the announcement expected on September 12, when the protest leadership is expected to provide details of the proposed Mumbai march and its demands.
