BC Unions Protest Against Quota Criteria for Panchayat Polls

Hyderabad: A major controversy has erupted over reservations for Backward Classes (BCs) in the upcoming Gram Panchayat elections, with BC unions accusing the state government of diluting their share.

The unions contend that BCs, who received 22 per cent reservation in the 2019 Gram Panchayat polls under the previous BRS regime, have now been allotted a little over 17 per cent. They argue that this is far below the 42 per cent reservation the ruling Congress had promised for BCs in local bodies during its election campaign.

Tension escalated on Wednesday when the BC Joint Action Committee (BCJAC) staged a protest in Hyderabad demanding the scrapping of GO 46, which lays down the methodology for fixing reservations in local bodies.

BCJAC chairman R. Krishnaiah launched a day-long hunger strike, reiterating the demand for 42 per cent reservation for BCs and accusing the Congress government of backtracking on its pre-election promises.

GO 46, issued on November 22, stipulates that total reservations for Scheduled Tribes (STs), Scheduled Castes (SCs) and BCs must not exceed 50 per cent. It mandates the use of the 2011 Census for determining SC and ST quotas, while the SEEPC caste enumeration conducted by the State government in December 2024 should be used for BC reservations. It also directs that seats reserved in previous elections should not be repeated for the same categories and that women’s reservation must be applied separately.

According to the GO, reservation allocation must begin with STs, followed by SCs, and then BCs. In villages with 100 per cent ST population, all wards and sarpanch posts must be reserved for STs alone. BC organisations argue that these criteria have increased SC and ST reservations — which together now account for 33 per cent — while reducing the BC share to just 17 per cent.

Of the 12,735 Gram Panchayats in Telangana, BCs have been allotted 2,176 sarpanch posts (17.07 per cent). The highest BC reservation was recorded in Jogulamba Gadwal district (27.45 per cent). Fourteen districts crossed the 20 per cent mark: Gadwal (27.45 per cent), Hanamkonda (21.42 per cent), Jagtial (25.45 per cent), Kamareddy (23.12 per cent), Karimnagar (26.41 per cent), Mahabubnagar (20.33 per cent), Medak (21.95 per cent), Narayanpet (26.47 per cent), Nizamabad (22.93 per cent), Peddapally (26.23 per cent), Siricilla (21.53 per cent), Siddipet (26.77 per cent), Wanaparthy (23.50 per cent) and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri (24.59 per cent).

However, seven districts recorded single-digit BC reservations, with Bhadradri Kothagudem registering zero per cent. Other districts with extremely low allocations include Adilabad (4.86 per cent), Asifabad (5.97 per cent), Mahabubabad (3.94 per cent), Mancherial (7.51 per cent), Mulugu (3.42%) and Khammam (9.45 per cent).

Ten districts logged between 10 and 20 per cent: Jangaon (16.07 per cent), Bhupalapally (18.54 per cent), Nagarkurnool (13.26 per cent), Nalgonda (15.99 per cent), Nirmal (18 per cent), Rangareddy (17.49%), Sangareddy (19.08%), Suryapet (13.58%), Vikarabad (18.01 per cent) and Warangal (14.82 per cent).

No Gram Panchayat elections will be held in Hyderabad and Medchal–Malkajgiri, as they are entirely urban districts.

Speakers at the protest rally accused the state government of betraying BCs after promising enhanced representation. They alleged that nearly 1,200 sarpanch seats that BCs were entitled to were lost due to the revised reservation formula.

Several BC leaders — including former BC Commission chairman Vakulabharanam Krishna Mohan Rao, filmmaker R. Narayana Murthy, political leaders from various parties and representatives of BC unions — extended support to Krishnaiah’s hunger strike. They announced statewide agitations on November 29, including dharnas, relay hunger strikes and road blockades, until the government revises GO 46 and restores what they described as the rightful share of BCs in local body reservations.