NDA parties in Andhra Pradesh to ensure 34% BC representation in local body elections

Agriculture Minister K. Atchannaidu along with several of his Cabinet colleagues addressed the media at the Secretariat in Amaravati on Saturday.

Ensuring adequate political representation and social justice for backward classes (BCs) in local body elections is the primary objective of the coalition government, says Agriculture Minister K. Atchannaidu.

Addressing the media at the Secretariat after a special meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday, Mr. Atchannaidu said that the BC will receive an average reservation of 28.18% based on the Rajiv Ranjan Mishra Commission report, while the NDA partners (TDP, BJP and JSP) will provide more than 34% reservation at the party level where they do not get statutory reservation options.

Mr. Atchannaidu said the government is committed to protecting BC’s constitutional rights and expanding their political options within the legal framework.

Recalling the history of BC reservations, he said TDP founder-president and former chief minister NT Rama Rao introduced 20% reservation for BCs in 1987, which was subsequently increased to 34% by the TDP government led by Mr. Naidu in 1995 through amendments to the Panchayat Raj Act.

The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government reduced reservation for BCs to 24% in 2019, resulting in the loss of nearly 17,000 political posts for communities at various levels, Mr. Atchannaidu recalled.

The NDA government subsequently sought to restore the 34% reservation, but faced legal challenges after which it had to approach the Supreme Court.

Mr. Atchannaidu said that the NDA government has constituted a special committee headed by senior IAS officer Rajiv Ranjan Mishra through GO Ms. No. 3 dated February 19, 2026 in compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court.

The commission collected data across districts, regions and social groups before recommending reservations for different categories of local authorities. The Cabinet approved its recommendations and forwarded them to the State Election Commission for further action.

According to the Commission report, the BC reservations were proposed at 26.73% for gram panchayat body members, 27.95% for sarpanches, 25.55% for MPTCs, 24.60% for MPPs and ZPTCs and 23.08% for district parish presidents. In the local authorities of the city, reservations were proposed by 32.78% for the members of the section, 33.02% for the presidents of the municipalities and 35.29% for the mayors.

Mr Atchannaidu said the overall average among local authorities was 28.18%. If the reservations were below 34%, the NDA partners would provide additional opportunities through party nominations, he added.

Social Welfare Minister Dola Sree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy said SC and ST reservations were determined using the 2011 census, while the BC allocations were finalized after accounting for these quotas and applicable legal limits.

Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav said the government was committed to empowering BC and questioned the previous YSRCP government’s decision to curtail reservation.

Ministers said the coalition government is ready for local body elections as soon as the Electoral Commission issues a notification.

Ministers S. Savitha, Vangalapudi Anitha, Kolusu Parthasarathy and G. Sandhya Rani were present.

Published – 10 Oct 2026 18:39 IST