Martha quota protest leader Manoj Jarange Patil ended his protest today after the Maharashtra government accepted all his demands. Mr Patil has been on a hunger strike in Mumbai since yesterday demanding reservation in education and jobs for the community under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

Mr Patil’s demands included Kunbi certificates for all Marathas, free education from kindergarten to postgraduate level, and reservation of seats for Marathas in government job recruitments.

So far, 37 lakh Kunbi certificates have been given, and the number will go up to 50 lakh, he said. Kunbi refers to Other Backward Classes (OBC).

The 40-year-old had threatened to march to Mumbai’s Azad Maidan for a massive protest if their demands were not met. “If the government does not agree, then we will show what we can do,” Mr Patil had said.

The protesters said that two Maharashtra ministers met Mr Patil on Friday night and the government has accepted all their demands.

#WATCH | Navi Mumbai: Maratha reservation activists celebrate after Manoj Jarange Patil announces to end the protests today as the government has accepted their demands pic.twitter.com/V1KxosEHRm

— ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2024

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is expected to visit the protest site and meet Manoj Patil at 9 am today.

The Maratha leader has planned a victory march for later today. The march will be held in Vashi.

The Maratha community’s demand for reservation has been a focal point of discussions between the community leaders and the state government.

On May 5, 2021, the Supreme Court struck down reservations for the Maratha community in colleges, higher educational institutions, and jobs, after noting that there was no valid ground to breach 50 per cent reservation while granting Maratha reservation.

Nitish Kumar has jumped between the BJP, Congress, and/or Lalu Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal since 2013, so much so that he has acquired the moniker ‘Paltu Ram‘. After parting ways with the BJP in 2022, he had taken on the initiative of uniting all opposition forces to jointly take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling party in the 2024 elections.
The latest speculation about his switch was triggered after the BJP awarded a Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, to former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur. Mr Thakur was an iconic socialist leader who was Chief Minister twice in the 1970s and is credited with implementing the state’s contentious alcohol prohibition policy. Still remembered today as ‘Jan Nayak’, or ‘leader of the people’, Karpoori Thakur’s legacy remains a valuable asset for political parties today.
Nitish Kumar visited the Bihar Governor’s residence on Republic Day without his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, hinting at the discord between his party Janata Dal (United), and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).  
Nitish Kumar’s former Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi’s cryptic statement, “No door is closed in politics. The door can be opened if needed,” has added another layer of suspense to the development.
According to leaders close to the 72-year-old, the January 13 meeting of the INDIA alliance was the turning point. In that meeting, Nitish Kumar’s name was proposed as Convenor by CPM Leader Sitaram Yechury and endorsed by almost all leaders, including Lalu Yadav and Sharad Pawar. However, Rahul Gandhi interjected and said a decision on this would have to wait as Trinamool Congress leader and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had reservations over Nitish Kumar for the role.
A flurry of activities have started across Bihar adding fire to the reports that Nitish Kumar will bid adieu to the now-stuttering Congress-led INDIA opposition bloc.
The Bihar government transferred 79 Indian Police Service (IPS) and 45 Bihar Administrative Service (BAS) officers on Friday.
The BJP has convened a meeting to discuss strategies for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, hinting at a possible alliance with Nitish Kumar. State unit chief Samrat Choudhary downplays speculations, but sources say behind-the-scenes discussions are on.
Amid the crisis, both the Congress and RJD have called for meetings of their legislators. But Congress denies any connection to the evolving political scenario and claims that the meeting is to discuss preparations for Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’.
Nitish Kumar has convened a session of the legislative party at 10 am on Sunday. Reports suggest that he could join hands and officially stake claim to the Chief Minister post for an unprecedented ninth time, backed by the BJP later tomorrow.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to “buy” seven Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs with an offer of Rs 25 crore each in a bid to destabilise his government in the national capital.

Mr Kejriwal claimed that the BJP engaged in talks with the AAP legislators and purportedly threatened imminent arrest for the Delhi Chief Minister in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case. The alleged conversation involved a sinister plan to topple the AAP government in Delhi.

In a long social media post, the Delhi Chief Minister alleged, “Recently, they [BJP] has contacted 7 of our MLAs of Delhi and said – ‘We will arrest Kejriwal after a few days. After that, we will break the MLAs. Talks have been held with 21 MLAs. Talking to others also. After that, we will topple the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi. You can also come. Will give Rs 25 crore and contest the elections on BJP ticket.'”

पिछले दिनों इन्होंने हमारे दिल्ली के 7 MLAs को संपर्क कर कहा है – “कुछ दिन बाद केजरीवाल को गिरफ़्तार कर लेंगे। उसके बाद MLAs को तोड़ेंगे। 21 MLAs से बात हो गयी है। औरों से भी बात कर रहे हैं। उसके बाद दिल्ली में आम आदमी पार्टी की सरकार गिरा देंगे। आप भी आ जाओ। 25 करोड़ रुपये देंगे…

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 27, 2024

Despite the claim of contacting 21 MLAs, Mr Kejriwal insisted that the information available to the AAP suggests that only seven MLAs have been approached, and all of them have firmly declined the tempting offer.

“This means that I am not being arrested to investigate any liquor scam but they are conspiring to topple the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi,” Mr Kejriwal stated. “In the last nine years, they hatched many conspiracies to topple our government. But they did not get any success. God and the people always supported us. All our MLAs are also strongly together. This time also these people will fail in their nefarious intentions.”

Mr Kejriwal added that the alleged attempts to destabilise his government are driven by the AAP’s good work in the national capital. Despite various obstacles, Mr Kejriwal added, the people of Delhi hold immense love for AAP, making it difficult for the BJP to defeat them in elections.