Ahead of the general elections as well as the Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, the Backward Classes in the State have been pushed centre stage.
Both the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and the Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) have been competing in their efforts to remind the Backward Classes that they gave the community due recognition. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that nearly 66% of Cabinet berths have been given to those belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and minorities. The national president of the TDP, N. Chandrababu Naidu, has said that the TDP has been a “factory and a university” that nurtured leadership from the Backward Classes. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also joined the bandwagon and has blamed the regional parties for not allocating enough seats to the Backward Classes in the Assembly and in Parliament. The Backward Classes are important for the 2024 elections as they constitute 52% of the population in the State. About 3 crore people fall under the category of Backward Classes. As many as 139 castes are enlisted under this category. Groups such as the Yadavas, Goudas, Agnikula Kshatriyas, and Nayi Brahmins feel that they don’t have adequate representation in the legislature.
When N.T. Rama Rao founded the TDP in 1982, he sensed that the Backward Classes were unhappy and made it a priority to allocate seats to the community. His formula worked and the Backward Classes sailed with the TDP for many decades. On the other hand, the Kapus, who have had a traditional rivalry with the Kamma community to which N.T. Rama Rao belonged, remained unattached to the party.
The Backward Classes were the backbone of the TDP. But problems began in 2016 when the reservation stir by the dominant Kapus, who constitute 15% of the population in the State, turned violent. In 2017, the TDP government sought to enact a Bill to include Kapus in the list of Backward Classes, but this did not receive the Centre’s clearance. In 2019, the government passed a Bill providing 5% reservation to the Kapus, out of the total 10% reservation for economically weaker sections proposed by the Centre. The TDP was merely keeping a promise it had made in its election manifesto in 2014, but this angered the Backward Classes community. It gave rise to apprehensions that the Kapus would walk out with what was the rightful share of the Backward Classes.
Meanwhile, in 2018, Mr. Reddy said during his Praja Sankalpa Padayatra in Jaggampeta that he could not assure reservation to the Kapus if he came to power. Political pandits felt that Mr. Reddy was taking a decision against the public mood, which may hit the YSRCP’s prospects. However, the YSRCP won 28 constituencies out of 34 in the East and West Godavari districts (composite), which are Kapu belts. It also won 14 out of 16 seats in the Krishna (composite) district where Kapus live in large numbers.
Now, in a bid to win back the confidence of the Backward Classes, the TDP has promised a separate manifesto as well as a special legislation to protect members of the community along the lines of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The TDP has been saying that under the YSRCP government, the Backward Classes have been subjected to harassment. It has also promised 34% reservation to the community if voted back to power.
The YSRCP argues that the government has ushered in social justice by allotting 50% of the nominated posts and contracts for SCs, STs, Backward Classes, and minorities through a special law. Even 80% of the jobs of village and ward volunteers have been given to these sections, it says. The State government issued a Government Order in 2020 limiting reservation to 24.15% for Backward Classes in the local body elections as the total reservations were over and above the permissible limit of 50%. The YSRCP has also started appointing in-charges from the Backward Classes and giving tickets to people of the community even in the open category Assembly constituencies in spite of the sitting MLAs and MPs sulking over the issue. Since Mr. Reddy is known to be skilful in the art of social engineering, the TDP is on the back foot. As of now, it is advantage YSRCP in garnering Backward Classes votes.
