Amaravati: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal filed by the Andhra Pradesh government against a high court order that had struck down two government orders providing a 34 per cent reservation for Backward Classes in local body elections. The ruling triggered sharp political exchanges, with senior YSRCP leaders stating that the verdict exposed the N Chandrababu Naidu government's failure to secure the promised quota.
Chief Minister Naidu countered by accusing the YSRCP of going to court against the initiative. He stated that although the reservation government order had been cancelled, the TDP would still ensure representation for BCs by allocating 34 per cent of seats from the party's side. The Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee also criticized Naidu, urging him to press the Centre on issues affecting Other Backward Classes.
Senior YSRCP leaders Ch Venugopala Krishna and Dharmana Prasada Rao asserted that Naidu had promised 34 per cent reservation in the election manifesto while fully aware of the legal ceiling on reservations, yet failed to complete the necessary statutory process to protect the quota. In a party release, they stated that the Supreme Court verdict highlighted the current government's failure to provide the promised reservation in rural and urban local bodies. They claimed the TDP-led coalition knew that aggregate reservations generally cannot cross the 50 per cent ceiling, but still issued orders that failed judicial scrutiny.
Krishna further alleged that the TDP-led NDA government wasted time instead of creating a legally sustainable framework and criticized Naidu for not raising the issue strongly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He rejected the government's proposal to compensate BCs through party-level ticket allocation, maintaining that political tickets and statutory reservations are fundamentally different, and demanded that the government complete the required legal process to hold elections with the 34 per cent quota.
Highlighting the past record of his party, Rao noted that during the YSRCP government between 2019 and 2024, BC leaders secured a significant number of prominent legislative and local government positions. He stated that the YSRCP would continue its fight until BCs receive proper statutory reservation and fair political representation.
Echoing the opposition's criticism, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee vice president Kolanukonda Sivaji argued that Naidu had squandered an opportunity to serve the Backward Classes. He claimed the Prime Minister had failed to honour commitments regarding the inclusion of an OBC column and code in the population census, and urged Naidu to pressure the Union government on the matter as compensation for the local body quota failure. Sivaji also contrasted the current situation with the tenure of former chief minister YS Rajasekar Reddy, who he said successfully conducted local body elections with a 34 per cent BC reservation after consulting central leadership.
Responding to the mounting criticism, Naidu maintained that the opposition party had filed cases to obstruct the implementation of the reservation. He reiterated that despite the Supreme Court cancelling the administrative orders, the TDP would guarantee justice for BCs by allocating 34 per cent of party contest seats to them. Naidu claimed the TDP has historically been the primary driver of social and economic development for Backward Classes, alleging that the previous YSRCP administration had reduced earlier BC quotas before his coalition restored them to 34 per cent upon taking office.