Maharashtra's ruling Mahayuti alliance faced fresh internal discord on Saturday as senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) minister Chhagan Bhujbal unleashed a blistering attack on BJP colleague Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, accusing him of sowing division among communities through a controversial government resolution (GR) on Maratha reservations. Speaking at the OBC Elgar Sabha in Beed—a high-profile rally attended by leaders from across the state—Bhujbal warned that the OBC community, credited with bolstering BJP's electoral success by securing 125-130 assembly seats in 2024, would not tolerate perceived injustices. His remarks, delivered amid escalating tensions ahead of local body polls, highlight deepening caste fault lines in Maharashtra, where demands for Maratha inclusion under the OBC quota have pitted allies against each other, threatening the coalition's fragile unity.
Bhujbal zeroed in on a GR issued to address Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil's agitation, alleging Vikhe Patil, as chairperson of the cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservations, hastily amended it to remove safeguards for "eligible Marathas" within an hour of Jarange's objections, despite the Chief Minister's absence from the state. "Vikhe came and spread bitterness across Maharashtra—not just that, he even issued the GR," Bhujbal charged, framing the move as a betrayal that widened the chasm between Marathas and OBCs.
He urged OBC members to "teach a lesson" to those undermining their interests in upcoming elections, emphasising that the community's loyalty to Mahayuti could waver if OBC quotas—encompassing over 350 castes and 52% of reservations—are diluted. This outburst echoes Bhujbal's earlier September 2025 letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis demanding the GR's withdrawal, citing procedural lapses and risks of dual benefits for Marathas, a stance rooted in Supreme Court precedents on caste verification.
In response, Vikhe Patil swiftly rebutted the allegations, insisting the GR adhered to legal frameworks and preserved OBC entitlements intact. Addressing reporters, the revenue minister appealed for Bhujbal's patience as a "senior leader" and rejected claims of engineered rifts, invoking Maharashtra's syncretic ethos: "We are celebrating Diwali—has there ever been an 'OBC Diwali' or a 'Maratha Diwali'?" He reaffirmed OBCs' centrality to BJP's DNA, crediting Shinde's sub-committee with resolving Maratha demands in Marathwada without judicial overreach.
Vikhe Patil defended Jarange as a "sincere and selfless" figure, decrying personal attacks on his education, and pledged post-Diwali consultations with OBC leaders and Justice Sandeep Shinde to dispel "misunderstandings". He also proposed a direct meeting with Bhujbal, signalling damage control efforts amid past flare-ups, including 2023 demands for Bhujbal's resignation over similar quota clashes.
The confrontation amplifies longstanding frictions within Mahayuti—comprising BJP, Shinde's Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar's NCP—exacerbated by Jarange's relentless protests, including hunger strikes that prompted concessions like withdrawing cases against protesters for damages under Rs 5 lakh. Bhujbal, a vocal OBC champion who briefly dissented against Pawar in June 2025 before rejoining the cabinet, positions himself as a bulwark against encroachments, warning that Maratha entry into OBC folds would overburden an already "full house". Analysts view this as a strategic play for OBC consolidation ahead of polls, where caste arithmetic could sway outcomes in strongholds like Beed. Yet, it risks alienating Maratha voters, who form 30% of the population and have historically backed Shiv Sena-BJP.
As Diwali approaches, with festivities masking underlying volatility, Fadnavis's mediation looms critical to avert a broader schism. The Bombay High Court's review of the GR could tip the scales, but unchecked rhetoric threatens to erode Mahayuti's 235-seat mandate from 2024. For Maharashtra, where reservations fuel 70% of litigation, this spat exemplifies the tightrope of balancing equity with electoral pragmatism, demanding dialogue over division to sustain social harmony in a diverse state.