Thousands of supporters are all set to accompany Jarange-Patil as his roadshow arrives in Panvel today, marking the final leg of his journey towards Mumbai’s Azad Maidan. The Maratha quota activist aims to reignite the call for reservations in government jobs and education for his community. His roadshow from Panvel will travel from Kharghar, Belapur and Nerul to Vashi.
He will be staying at Vashi’s Agriculture Produce Market Committee along with others who are travelling with him.On Republic Day morning, Jarange-Patil will travel to Chembur where he will garland the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and will start the roadshow towards Dadar. “He will travel to Azad maidan at south Mumbai from Dadar via Byculla.
Patil who originally hails from the adjoining Beed district, settled in Shahgad in Jalna district after marriage.He joined the movement for reservations for the Maratha community in government jobs and education about 15 years ago. He participated in several marches and protests and also sold 2.5 acres of agricultural land out of his four acres to meet his daily needs.After initially working for Congress, Jarange-Patil founded an outfit called the Shivba Sanghatana to organise protests for the Maratha reservation.After the Supreme Court quashed the Maratha reservation quota in 2021, Jarange-Patil participated in demonstrations at various places, including a three-month agitation in Sasht-Pimpalgaon in Jalna district, where hundreds of people joined him.The Maratha activist came into the limelight during a hunger strike in Septemeber last year at the village of Ataravali-Sarate