Is TDP really a pro-BC party? Let’s look at some historical evidence

TDP leader Chandrababu, who goes around propagating that theirs is a pro-BC party, has once again shown his true colours. Of the 94 seats Babu announced recently, 21 seats were reserved for Kammas and only 18 seats were allotted to BC candidates. How can TDP be a pro-BC party when they announce only 18 seats out of 94 for BCs, who make up the biggest part of the population in terms of percentage? In this order, let’s take a look at some facts that shine a light on how Chandrababu has been doing grave injustice to BCs in politics.

A Historical Record of TDP vs YSRCP’s Priorities with BCs in the Political Sphere

Ever since Chandrababu took the reins as TDP President, there has been an opportunity to send a total of 45 MPs to the Rajya Sabha. But not a single BC was sent.
In contrast, during YS Jagan’s tenure, out of 11 Rajya Sabha seats, four seats were allotted to BCs.
YS Jagan made 17 BC MLCs. Chandrababu Naidu never gave a chance to so many BCs in his time.
Can Babu guarantee that BCs will be given more MLA tickets than YSRCP in the next election?
Can Chandrababu say that he will give more tickets to the BCs in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections than YSRCP?
Chandrababu did not dare to change the Kamma candidate in Penamaluru for a ticket to Parthasarathy from the Yadav community. Instead, he moved Parthasarathy to Nuzividu, replacing another Yadav leader there.
But Jagan Mohan Reddy was able to move Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, who had defeated Nara Lokesh and secured a seat for a Padmasali leader there.
In Narsaraopet, Jagan sidelined even a Kamma candidate to give the ticket to the Yadav community. But Chandrababu is looking for a leader from the wealthy Reddy community to contest the Yadav-dominated Ongole/Nellore Lok Sabha seats.
YS Jagan has given opportunity to 3 BC, 1 OC (Kapu) and 1 SC candidate in 5 Lok Sabha constituencies of Godavari districts. At the same time, Chandrababu gave opportunities to OCs in 4 positions and SCs in 1 position. In OC also, two people from the Kamma community were given the ticket.
While Jagan gave a chance to 11 people from BCs as ministers in his cabinet, only 8 people were given a chance during Chandrababu’s regime.
While YSRCP won 13 Zilla Parishads in the Zilla Parishad elections, they allotted 6 Zilla Parishad Chairman/Chairperson posts (46 percent) to BCs.
YSRCP won 84 out of 87 municipalities and allotted 44 chairman/chairperson posts to BCs (53 percent).
While YSRCP made a clean sweep in 14 corporations, they gave 9 mayor posts, that is 64 percent, to BCs.

Also Read: Chief Minister Jagan Introduces ‘Bhavitha’ for Job-Oriented Quality Education in AP

In actuality, TDP was never a BC-friendly party. In Telangana, under united AP, there was a need for TDP to face the Congress which was mainly supported by the Reddys. As the Kamma community had less presence in Telangana, they gave opportunities to BCs in some positions under mandatory conditions but not out of love for BCs. Since the bifurcation of the state, the share of BC candidates in TDP has dropped significantly. As TDP doesn’t need BCs in Andhra Pradesh, it is depending fully on its own Kamma base. But YS Jagan’s modus operandi in this matter stands apart. He rules by including all communities. Apart from BCs, he gave equal opportunities to SCs, STs and Muslims in post allotment. Although this has angered some Reddy community leaders, it is creating a positive atmosphere for Jagan as revealed in several surveys.