In what is seemingly a bid to placate the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) who have been unhappy with the Maharashtra government’s decision to provide reservation to Marathas under the OBC quota, an MP from the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday backed the demand for a nationwide caste census.

Buldhana MP Prataprao Jadhav, in a debate on the Bill to grant reservations to OBCs in Jammu and Kashmir, said the percentage of OBCs in Maharashtra was on the rise. “Following the movement for Maratha reservation (led by activist Manoj Jarange-Patil), around 57 lakh people are being given Kunbi certificates. There has been a demand for a caste census in Parliament too. If a caste census is done along with the general census in 2026-’27, reservation for OBCs can be increased in states where their population is found to be higher. Similarly, quota can be reduced wherever it is found that their population has decreased,” he said.

This is the first time that a Sena leader has voiced his support for the nationwide census, a demand that is the Opposition’s key poll plank. The Shinde-led government, comprising BJP and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar, has so far only spoken in favour of a caste survey in Maharashtra.

“In Maharashtra, Kolis, Dhangars, and Lingayats, among others, have been agitating for reservation. I request the government that a census of these communities be conducted and appropriate reservation is granted to them. The Centre must give proper instructions to the state governments,” Jadhav said.

The parliamentarian’s comments come close on the heels of the Maharashtra government giving in to the pressure of the agitation led by Jarange-Patil. With the activist applying pressure, the government last month issued a draft notification that said Marathas and their “sage soyre (blood relatives)” would be issued Kunbi certificates, thus enabling them to avail reservation under the OBC quota.

The Sena-BJP-NCP Mahayuti government was red-faced after state Cabinet Minister Chhagan Bhujbal of the NCP opposed the move. Bhujbal, seen as one of the tallest OBC leaders in the state, has been vocal against Marathas being accommodated in the OBC category and, in the past, has urged them to respond to Maratha quota agitators “in the same vein”. He was also critical of their inclusion during a mega OBC rally held last December as a counter to Jarange-Patil’s agitation.

Against this backdrop, Jadhav’s comments are being perceived as the Maharashtra government’s move to placate OBCs who have been up in arms against the draft notification as they are wary of Maratha reservation eating into their quota. While his deputies have spoken in favour of a caste survey in the state, Shinde has so far avoided making a clear statement. “An appropriate decision will be taken on the issue after seeking the opinion of all sections of society,” he said in December. That statement came a day after senior RSS functionary Shridhar Gadge said there was no need for a caste census and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi reiterated his party would conduct a caste census if voted to power in the Lok Sabha polls and also remove the 50% cap on quotas.

Jadhav, however, criticised the Congress and said it saw benefit in keeping the poor and the backward as they are. “They opposed the Mandal Commission report tooth and nail. It is under the Narendra Modi government that OBCs will get reservation in Jammu and Kashmir after 75 years,” he said.

Baramati MP Supriya Sule, who is NCP leader Sharad Pawar’s daughter, also raised the issue and said the government was doing nothing despite demands for reservation from many communities in Maharashtra. “Can they please specify what is their stand on SC/ST and OBC reservations? They should bring a nationwide policy on reservations. They have a triple-engine government in Maharashtra but no elections are happening in local bodies in the state,” she said.