A litmus test for Marathas

File photo of Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis outside Vidhan Bhavan after the Bill supporting Maratha Reservation was passed during special Assembly session in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

If the Mahayuti wins the upcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gets more seats, a non-Maratha leader could become the Chief Minister, thus challenging the historical hegemony of the Maratha elite.

The BJP has channelised the idea of ‘Subaltern Hindutva’ that focuses on mobilising Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Dalits as the claimants of political power. This may create a new challenge to the Maratha domination in the State. However, the prospects of this shift translating into greater political agency for the marginalised communities remain tenuous.

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The Marathas are not only facing challenges in electoral democracy; in other spheres too, their conventional domination is dwindling. The Marathas have constituted approximately 50% of the State Assembly’s elected members, with around 80 seats never won by non-Maratha candidates. Their dominance extends to key economic sectors, including education, banking, and agriculture.

However, since the 1990s, there has been a decline in this hegemonic status, exacerbated by the Congress’s waning influence and the rise of right-wing parties such as the Shiv Sena and BJP. This fragmentation has resulted in the dispersal of Maratha voters across multiple political parties, diluting their once unassailable political clout.

Importantly, the emergence of new political forces, mainly the BJP, has facilitated the rise of other social groups, particularly among OBCs and certain sections of Scheduled Castes, who now challenge the Maratha dominance. The BJP’s strategic OBC mobilisation has further complicated the traditional power dynamics, positioning the party as a viable alternative for the non-Maratha voters and simultaneously presenting Brahmins leaders, such as Nitin Gadkari and Devendra Fadanvis, as the influential claimants to top political seats.

The Maratha identity is far from monolithic; it encompasses various castes and classes, with notable distinctions between the ‘elite’ Gadivarcha Maratha, the ‘middle-class’ Ghodyawarcha Maratha, and the ‘impoverished’ Garib Maratha. While the elite group has historically monopolised political and economic power, the middle-class Marathas have experienced a decline in socioeconomic mobility due to a growing agrarian crises, commercialisation of agricultural land, and urban migration. Simultaneously, the assertive resurgence of Dalit social movements presents a formidable challenge to Maratha supremacy at the rural spheres. As Dalits gain visibility through cultural and civil society initiatives, they confront the Maratha elite.

The Garib Maratha, primarily engaged in marginal farming and informal employment, share socioeconomic challenges with other marginalised groups such as Dalits and Muslims. Although Marathas fare better than other groups in socioeconomic indicators, the recent surge in mobilisations for reservations underscores a growing recognition of their economic vulnerabilities and growing class inequalities. Neoliberal economic reforms have particularly affected the middle-class Marathas, pushing many towards poverty due to rising agricultural distress and inadequate urban employment opportunities. However, rather than fostering solidarity to demand substantive affirmative action policies for their empowerment, it often aligns with a unified Maratha identity that perpetuates caste pride and sometimes turns against other marginalised communities. The recent mobilisation to claim reservation is an outcome of such anxieties that the vulnerable sections amongst the Marathas are experiencing.

The Marathas are the most influential political and social actors in Maharashtra politics. However, in the post-liberalisation period, their domination witnessed new challenges. The rise of multi-party democracy, of democratic consciousness among the marginalised social groups (like Kunbis and OBCs), and the growing agrarian crises have disturbed the domination of the conventional Maratha ruling elites. Further, the non-Maratha aspirational class has found an accommodative space in right-wing political parties, thus creating a political challenge to the conventional authority of the Marathas. The Assembly election is going to be a difficult test for the Marathas to retain their socio-political domination.

Harish S. Wankhede is Assistant Professor at JNU