Government Bars Reddy Gandla, 26 Omitted BC Castes from Claiming BC Quota in Municipal Polls
The government stated that at least eight ineligible candidates had won ward member seats in the recent gram panchayat elections by using invalid BC status, exposing gaps in verification mechanisms.
Hyderabad: The state government on Thursday issued orders barring the Reddy Gandla community and 26 other Backward Classes communities from claiming BC reservations in the municipal elections scheduled for February 11, aiming to prevent the misuse of caste certificates.
The decision follows concerns that ineligible individuals were exploiting BC reservation benefits by obtaining BC certificates through administrative loopholes. Officials have been directed to stop issuing BC-B certificates to members of the Reddy Gandla community, reversing a decade-old practice that was earlier permitted in four districts.
Returning Officers have also been instructed to disqualify candidates belonging to the 26 omitted castes if they attempt to contest seats reserved for BCs.
The government stated that at least eight ineligible candidates had won ward member seats in the recent gram panchayat elections by using invalid BC status, exposing gaps in verification mechanisms.
The fresh orders are based on a report submitted by the Telangana Commission for Backward Classes, which flagged the “exploitation” of reservations by groups that do not satisfy the state’s legal criteria for backwardness. The memos mark the culmination of a long-standing legal and social debate that has continued since the formation of Telangana in 2014.
The Gandla community, traditionally oil pressers, is recognised as BC-B, but the Reddy Gandla group is considered a distinct sub-sect. Though both share an ancestral occupation, the “Reddy” prefix has often led to confusion and has been used to claim benefits that, according to the government, are not legally applicable.
In 2010, the undivided Andhra Pradesh government had allowed district collectors in Karimnagar, Adilabad, Warangal and Medak to issue BC certificates to members of the Reddy Gandla community, a move now withdrawn by the present memo, which terms the earlier decision as an error that enabled misuse.
After Telangana’s formation in June 2014, a review of the BC list found that 26 castes, including Kalinga, Toorpu Kapu and Gavara, were largely concentrated in the Andhra region with no substantial indigenous presence in Telangana. They were removed through GO 3 in 2014, a move upheld by the High Court in 2016.