Maharashtra minister and leader of Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction, Chhagan Bhujbal’s disclosure about his resignation from the Eknath Shinde Cabinet to protest the state government’s bid to facilitate the Maratha reservation under the OBC category has put the Shinde dispensation in a spot.

Bhujbal’s move has brought the internal rifts within the ruling alliance – which includes the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, BJP and the Ajit Pawar NCP – to the surface over the Maratha quota issue.

Addressing an OBC rally at Ahmednagar on Saturday, Bhujbal said he had already submitted his resignation on November 16.

The revelation made by Bhujbal, considered a prominent OBC leader, sent the ruling coalition in a tizzy, although Deputy CM and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadmavis immediately told reporters that Bhujbal’s resignation had not been accepted. “CM Shinde will be able to clarify on it,” Fadnavis said.

On Monday the Rashtriya OBC Mahasangh president Babanrao Taywade warned the Shinde government not to accept Bhujbal’s resignation. The OBC organisations across Maharashtra have rallied round Bhujbal for championing the cause of the OBCs over the reservation row.

“Bhujbal should continue as a minister. He is fighting for the OBC rights, raising their concerns. The government should not accept his resignation at any cost. If Bhujbal is out of government it will lead to serious consequences as OBCs will unite and take to the streets,” Taywade said.

On his part, Bhujbal said, “My priority is OBC welfare. I will continue to fight for their rights and justice. Whether I remain a minister or not is not important.”

Earlier, Bhujbal had slammed Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil for allegedly unleashing his protesters to target OBC leaders.

Last October, the Maratha quota stir took a violent turn when protesters torched the premises of NCP MLAs Prakash Solanke and Sandeep Kshirsagar. Bhujbal visited them after the violence. He also attacked Jarange Patil for trying to force the government to concede his demand for blanket issuance of Kunbi certificates to enable reservation for Marathas within the OBC category.

Jarange Patil also hit back at Bhujbal, even as several Maratha activists and Shinde Sena leaders demanded Bhujbal’s sacking as a minister.

Bhujbal has maintained that he is not against the Maratha reservation but only against facilitating “backdoor entry” of Marathas into the OBC quota through the use of the Kunbi certificates.

On January 27, the Shinde government issued a notification of draft rules to allot Kunbi (OBC) certificates to Marathas which carried the word “sage soyare” (family relatives) as demanded by Jarange Patil.

Bhujbal has led the OBC’s opposition against it, saying it will compromise the OBC quota by reducing its existing 27% share.

Taking the lead to spearhead the OBC protests against the Maratha reservation from its category, Bhujbal has addressed various rallies held in different parts of the state in recent months. This has been seen as his bid to reassert his leadership within the OBC group, which is estimated to make up about 52% of the state’s population.

Bhujbal, 76, started his political career in the Shiv Sena in the 1960s. From an ordinary sainik to the Sena corporator to becoming the Mumbai mayor twice to getting elected as the MLA from Mazgaon in 1985 and 1990 – he rose the political ladder in the Sena under the leadership of the party founder Bal Thackeray.

In 1991, Bhujbal left the Sena to join the Congress, citing the Mandal politics since the Thackeray-led party was opposed to the OBC quota.

Later, when Sharad Pawar walked out of the Congress to form the NCP in 1999, Bhujbal followed him. He served as the Deputy CM twice, holding portfolios like Home and Public Works Department in the Congress-NCP governments.

Bhujbal has been representing the Yeola Assembly constituency in Nashik district in north Maharashtra as an NCP MLA since 2004.

Bhujbal faced allegations of corruption and money laundering in the Maharashtra Sadan construction case that led to his imprisonment from 2016 to 2018.

In 2019, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena joined hands with the Congress and the NCP to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, with Bhujbal inducted into the Uddhav Cabinet as the Food and Civil Supplies Minister. In July 2023, when Ajit Pawar led his NCP group to join the ruling NDA coalition, Bhujbal followed Ajit and got the same portfolio.

By forming a social outfit Samata Parishad in 1992, Bhujbal had sought to establish himself as the OBC leader. However, his bid to claim the leadership of the entire OBC category, which comprises 300 communities, has often been challenged as he belongs to the Mali community, which is not considered a dominant OBC group.

By latching on to the Maratha quota issue now, Bhujbal has stepped up his attempt to emerge as the face of the OBC leadership in the state.

Interestingly, within the NDA coalition, Bhujbal’s latest OBC play is perceived as having the backing of the BJP, which does not want to antagonise OBCs, its principal vote bank, in the election year.

On the other hand, by ensuring the issuance of the draft notification Shinde has sought to burnish his credentials as a Maratha leader. Marathas constitute about 33% of the state’s population, which are divided in its loyalty between the NCP, Congress and the Sena.

The conflict between Marathas and OBCs over quota is likely to have a bearing in the upcoming Lok Sabha and the Assembly polls in the state.

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) president Prakash Ambedkar said, “The reservation is going to be a major issue and nobody can undermine it. The Maratha versus OBC polarisation is a reality.”

Commenting on the Bhujbal matter, he said, “Irrespective of whether anybody has resigned or not, the differences within the Cabinet over Maratha and OBC reservation are evident.”

The MVA parties have dismissed Bhujbal’s resignation as a “drama”, with some Opposition leaders even charging that it was a “ploy orchestrated by BJP”.

State Congress president Nana Patole said, “If Bhujbal has resigned, what is his standing in the Cabinet? CM and Deputy CM should explain.”