The Dhangar leaders are seeking that the community be classified as tribals and included in the scheduled tribes (ST) category.
Its overtures notwithstanding, the BJP may have to face the ire of the Dhangar (shepherd) community with some leaders threatening to put up candidates against the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.
The Dhangar leaders are seeking that the community be classified as tribals and included in the scheduled tribes (ST) category. This is opposed by tribals, who fear they will eat into their share of quotas.
Gopichand Padalkar of the Yashwant Kranti Sena, who has launched a state-wide protest for the demand, said they were planning to announce candidates of their own in the Lok Sabha polls.
"We will not support any party. Henceforth, Dhangars will not vote for free," he added.
Padalkar, a former BJP leader, is likely to contest for the Lok Sabha from Sangli, while Uttam Jankar (another leader) may do likewise from Madha. Dhangar leaders claim to have over 40,000 votes in around 91 assembly constituencies.
Before the 2014 polls, the BJP had promised to concede this demand from the community, and later co-opted Mahadeo Jankar of the Dhangar-dominated Rashtriya Samaj Party (RSP) as the animal husbandry minister. Community leaders claim Dhangars number around 12-15% of the population, next only to Maratha-Kunbis.
At present, Dhangars, who are pastoral sheep herders with a significant number also engaged in agriculture, are in the NT-C category with 3.5% quotas but claim to be tribals. Their demand hinges on the presence of 'Dhangad/ Oraons' in the ST list. Dhangar leaders claim Dhangars and Dangads are the same and the term Dhangad is a "spelling mistake" that has deprived them of benefits. However, this demand is opposed by tribals, who claim Dhangars and Oraons are two distinct groups with Dhangads being a sub-tribe of the Oraon in Odisha and erstwhile Central provinces, who have been accidentally included in Maharashtra's ST list.
The Devendra Fadnavis-led government has already set up a cabinet sub-committee to look into the demand of the Dhangars and has said it will file an affidavit in the High Court claiming that there is no community called Dhangads in Maharashtra.
Padalkar said they would take a final decision on a Lok Sabha contest on March 12 in a conclave at Pandharpur, which will be attended by around 2,000 people from the community.
In October 2018, Padalkar had roped in Gujarat's Patidar leader Hardik Patel for their demand and held a rally at Arewadi in Sangli's Kavathe Mahankal taluka. Dhangar leaders claim inclusion in the ST category would ensure better political representation and educational and employment opportunities.
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In October 2018, Padalkar had roped in Gujarat’s Patidar leader Hardik Patel for their demand and held a rally at Arewadi in Sangli’s Kavathe Mahankal taluka. Dhangar leaders claim inclusion in the ST category would ensure better political representation and educational and employment opportunities.
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