Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was a Patidar, says Union Minister, spark controversy in Maharashtra

Union Minister and senior BJP leader from Gujarat C.R. Patil’s claim that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj belonged to the Patidar community sparked a controversy in Maharashtra.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is a 17th-century Maratha king from Maharashtra who belonged to the Bhonsale family.

The Minister remained defiant despite sharp criticism from the Opposition, saying there was no need to politicise the issue. “I don’t know what leaders in Maharashtra are saying. But there is no need to do politics over the issue. For my entire life, I have tried to spread the work of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. In Surat, where he had looted, we have installed three statues of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Across Gujarat, we have installed five of his statues. I have spent from my own pocket to organise more than 100 shows of Jaanata Raja (The Enlightened King—a play based on the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj)— in Gujarat, so that people get to know about his work,” he told The Hindu on Tuesday (January 7, 2026).

Earlier, while speaking at a programme in Surat, he had said, “I am glad to say that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was a Patidar and that he took successful efforts to form Hindavi Swarajya.”

This comment caused a political stir in Maharashtra ahead of the upcoming local body elections. In the run-up to the Mumbai civic polls, the Shiv Sena has been alleging that the BJP wants to merge Mumbai with Gujarat and wants to appropriate the city’s—and Maharashtra’s—wealth.

“This is an effort to make Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj a Gujarati. I heard CR Patil’s speech in Gujarat. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is of the Hindavi Empire, the Maratha Empire. Don’t avenge the plunder of Surat by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj this way,” Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said on Tuesday (January 7).

Reacting to the issue, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar said it was not necessary to take the Union Minister’s statement seriously. “The entire State of Maharashtra knows Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his lineage. Everyone says what they want. Maharashtra knows Maharaj’s Bhonsale family and of the Satara throne.”