Hyderabad: In Telangana, backward class politics has moved to centre stage, with the Congress, BJP, BRS, and Bharat Jagruthi locked in a blunt scramble to claim the BC champion title ahead of local body elections.
The Congress is betting hard on its Kamareddy Declaration, which promised a caste census and 42% reservation for BCs. The party passed a resolution in the Assembly, pushed a supporting ordinance, and dispatched both to the Centre. But with silence from Delhi, it’s now bracing for a three-day protest run in the capital.
On August 5, the government plans to move an adjournment motion in Parliament. On the 6th, Congress workers will gather at Jantar Mantar. On the 7th, a delegation will petition the President. The message: if BC reservations stall in Delhi, it won’t be for lack of noise from Hyderabad.
Telangana Jagruthi leader K. Kavitha, too, has timed her move to the minute. She’s calling a 72-hour protest beginning the same day, backed by a new poster campaign. Behind the scenes, party insiders say the goal is clear—own the narrative before anyone else can.
The BJP has staked out a counter-position. State chief Ramchander Rao dismissed the 42% promise as “legally impossible,” citing the 50% ceiling set by the Supreme Court. He demanded Muslims be excluded from the BC list and accused the Congress of selling “fantasies.” Yet, in the same breath, he claimed the BJP had the “clearest intent” when it came to BC rights.
Until recently, the BRS had largely stayed out of the BC debate. Not anymore. Leaks from the party suggest a sudden pivot, with a “BC Shankharavam” rally now slated for August 8 in Karimnagar. Reports also confirmed a farmhouse meeting between former ministers K.T. Rama Rao, T. Harish Rao, and ex-CM K. Chandrashekar Rao, focused on mobilising BC support and strategising around quota demands.
Hours later, BRS BC leaders called a press conference, confirmed the rally date, and said they’d also seek an audience with the President. They pledged to “pressure the Centre through public agitation.”
Back in Congress, BC leaders are demanding that CM Revanth Reddy return from Delhi with something to show for the 42% push. With all three major parties rolling out protests, declarations, and symbolic events, the contest to emerge as Telangana’s BC champion is now the key fault line in the run-up to the polls.
