TDP will give up to 40% reservations for BCs in local body elections, says Chandrababu Naidu

Local body elections are the platform to elevate deserving BC leaders to higher levels, and justice is being done to them without compromising on the interests of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, says TDP national president and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. File | Photo Credit: ANI Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu has said his party will give up to 40% seats to the Backward Classes (BCs) in the upcoming local body elections, and the results will be considered as the yardstick for the performance of the party leaders.In a virtual meeting with senior TDP leaders ahead of the local body elections on Sunday, Mr. Naidu said the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) went to the court to deprive the BCs of reservations and to delay the elections, and recalled that by reducing the reservations from 34% to 24%, the YSRCP had done grave injustice to them.Mr. Naidu said the YSRCP was never serious about the welfare of the BCs, who constitute about 50% of the population in Andhra Pradesh. The TDP leaders and grassroot workers should highlight the manner in which the YSRCP had cheated the BCs over the years.“Local body elections are the platform to elevate deserving BC leaders to higher levels, and justice is being done to them, without compromising on the interests of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes,” Mr. Naidu observed.False propagandaThe TDP chief said that ratings would be given on the basis of the leaders’ performance in the local body elections and sought proper coordination among the allies (the TDP, Jana Sena Party and BJP) to achieve the desired result. He said the YSRCP intensified its false propaganda on a host of issues as the elections neared, and that it should be thwarted. The selection of candidates would be done by factoring in their prospects of victory, honesty, efficiency, and social reengineering, he said, stressing that the local elections were crucial to increase the strength of the alliance.Mr. Naidu said through these elections, a strong lesson must be taught to the YSRCP and other anti-development forces. He noted that the government had so far spent ₹1.50 lakh crore on welfare and gave due priority to development. Focus should be laid on the delivery of Super Six promises during the election campaign alongside other accomplishments.“The coalition government has been working with the goals of individual security, family empowerment and village development. It has been largely successful in reaching them. The party leaders and cadres should leave no stone unturned to win the local body elections,” Mr. Naidu added. Published - October 11, 2026 07:08 pm IST