Maratha protesters wave black flags at Eknath Shinde in Parbhani

Maratha protesters waved black flags at Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during the Shiv Sena’s farmer-youth interaction programme in Parbhani on Sunday (August 30, 2026).

The protest comes amid the ongoing indefinite hunger strike in Jalna district by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil, who is demanding Kunbi caste certificates for the Maratha community.

Parbhani is part of the Marathwada division and is located 155 km from Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district, the site of the protest.

“MP Sanjay Jadhav and Eknath Shinde have challenged us; we will take our revenge in Mumbai. We won’t waste our energy now as the boundaries of Parbhani have been sealed,” Mr. Jarange Patil said.

He had previously asked Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Jadhav to call off the event, calling it an insult to the community when the government is allegedly cancelling already issued Kunbi certificates to Marathas.

During the event, Mr. Shinde defended the Mahayuti government’s record. “Mahayuti has worked for people; we formed the Shinde committee to give reservation, we also gave a 10% reservation to the Maratha community, and we did this without taking a quota from other communities,” he said.

Mr. Jadhav quit the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and joined the Shinde-led Shiv Sena with five other MPs in June. “We have been preparing for the event for the last two months; cancelling it at the last moment means facing a lot of difficulties,” Mr. Jadhav said, apologising to Mr. Jarange Patil in case his sentiments were hurt.

“We detained a total of 35 people to maintain law and order, but they were released after some time,” said Parbhani SP Pankaj Kumavat. 80 police officers, 310 police constables, and Riot Control Police (RCP) were deployed for security. Additionally, 10 officers and 150 constables were sent from the Nanded range for the security arrangements, he added.

Mr. Jarange Patil started the hunger strike on August 28, demanding Marathas be recognised as part of the Kunbi category, which is included in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) group. The core demands include officially declaring all Marathas eligible for this status, issuing Kunbi certificates while stopping the cancellation of existing claims, speeding up the verification process, and accepting old British or Hyderabad State-era government gazette records as valid proof.

Meanwhile, the government issued a Government Resolution on August 25, 2026, extending the tenure of the Sandeep Shinde committee until June 30, 2027, to establish a methodology for issuing kunbi certificates.

Mr. Jarange Patil has scheduled a community meeting for September 12, 2026. He said protests planned for Mumbai would be called off if the government accepts all community demands.