15 September,2026 03:35 PM IST | Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar | mid-day online correspondent
Manoj Jarange`s carcade will pass through Beed, Ahilyanagar, Pune, and Raigad district before reaching Azad Maidan in Mumbai on September 19. PIC/PTI
Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange left for Mumbai on Tuesday morning from Antarwali Sarati village in Maharashtra's Jalna district, undeterred by the police's denial of permission to stage a protest at Azad Maidan in Mumbai, news agency PTI reported. Jarange, who has been on a hunger strike for the past 17 days demanding reservations under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category for Maratha community members with Kunbi caste genealogies, is expected to reach Mumbai on Saturday, September 19.
Mumbai Police had earlier denied permission to Jarange to take his protest to Azad Maidan, citing law and order concerns amid the ongoing Ganeshotsav festivities.
Despite the denial, Jarange tweaked his earlier plan to mobilise Maratha community members from various parts of Maharashtra to Mumbai. He left for the state capital with a select group of five to 10 associates amid tight security.
Frail and slumped in the front seat of a car, Jarange, dressed in his trademark white shirt and trousers, cited the Bombay High Court's ruling, which had refused to restrain him from staging a protest in Mumbai.
"Nothing is more important for me than my community. I will die for my community or get a reservation for them. The court has said that if anyone is agitating democratically, it cannot be stopped. The judiciary is with us," he told reporters.
Jarange also reiterated his allegation that a conspiracy had been hatched to kill him.
"Does (Chief Minister) Devendra Fadnavis want to kill me with bullets? I am coming alone. They have chalked a plan to kill me. No matter even if they kill me, I will not let betrayal take place to the Maratha community," the quota activist said.
Fadnavis and other ministers in the state cabinet had repeatedly appealed to Jarange to withdraw his hunger strike, saying the government was open to discussions and would accept the legally valid demands.
Jarange's carcade will pass through Patoda in Beed, Srigonda in Ahilyanagar, Hadapsar in Pune and Khopoli in Raigad district before reaching Azad Maidan in Mumbai on September 19.
Earlier in the morning, Jarange underwent a health check-up, paid obeisance to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and visited two temples in the village.
According to IANS, Jarange refused medical treatment after undergoing the health check-up and paid tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj before leaving. A large crowd gathered to see him off, with several women seen in tears.
Tight security has been deployed along the Antarwali Sarati-Shahagad route. The deployment includes three sub-divisional police officers, 10 inspectors, 30 assistant/sub-inspectors, 300 police personnel, 265 home guards and two platoons of the Rapid City Police (RCP), taking the total number of personnel to 648, officials said.
Security arrangements have been strengthened at various sensitive points. Jarange's convoy includes two SUVs and as many ambulances.
His security has also been enhanced with personnel from the Additional Special Protection Unit (SPU) of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, along with two bodyguards provided by the Jalna police.
Jalna DYSP Siddheshwar Dhumal said, "We are managing traffic here along with the local police and highway police. Even if the number of vehicles in Jarange's convoy increases, we will manage."
ANI reported that Jarange had on September 13 announced that he would sit on a fast unto death at Mumbai's Azad Maidan at 10 am on September 19 if the demands of the Maratha community were not met in the next few days.
(With PTI, IANS, and ANI inputs)
