Andhra Pradesh Cabinet approves revised BC quota for local body polls

The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet on Saturday finalised a revised reservation framework for Backward Classes in upcoming local body elections, adopting empirical recommendations from the Rajiv Ranjan Mishra Commission.

The cabinet's approval follows a Supreme Court ruling that rejected the state government's earlier attempt to enforce a flat 34 per cent statutory quota without fresh empirical data. Under the newly adopted framework, statutory reservations for Backward Classes will average 28.18 per cent across all levels of local governance.

To meet its political pledge, the ruling coalition comprising the Telugu Desam Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and Jana Sena Party announced that it will voluntarily field Backward Class candidates in over 34 per cent of seats by offering party nominations where statutory quotas fall short.

Quotas fixed for rural and urban tiers

The commission's report, constituted under government orders in February 2026, laid out distinct reservation proportions for rural and urban local bodies. In rural governance, Backward Class allocations stand at 26.73 per cent for gram panchayat ward members, 27.95 per cent for sarpanches, 25.55 per cent for Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies, 24.60 per cent for both Mandal Parishad Presidents and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies, and 23.08 per cent for Zilla Parishad chairpersons.

Reservations in urban local bodies are set higher: 32.78 per cent for ward members, 33.02 per cent for municipal chairpersons, and 35.29 per cent for mayors.

Agriculture Minister K. Atchannaidu said at the Secretariat in Amaravati that the government has forwarded the commission's recommendations to the State Election Commission to initiate election scheduling. Social Welfare Minister Dola Sree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy noted that quotas for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were determined using 2011 Census data, with the remaining allocations assigned to Backward Classes within legal limits.

Political dispute over representation

The government framed the revised structure as a restoration of political representation, with ministers criticizing the former YSR Congress Party administration for lowering Backward Class quotas to 24 per cent in 2019 — a decision they claimed stripped away nearly 17,000 local positions. Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav added that conducting elections without delay is critical to ensuring the state secures funding allocations from the 16th Finance Commission.