Andhra Pradesh to challenge Supreme Court ruling on BC quota in local bodies

The Andhra Pradesh government will file a petition in the Supreme Court against a recent judicial decision that invalidated a 34% backward caste quota provision for local body elections, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced. The state cabinet had approved the quota mechanism in August ahead of planned local body polls. Naidu attributed the court's ruling to petitions filed by the opposition YSR Congress Party, which he said influenced the judicial outcome. The timing of the local body elections was critical for the state, as conducting them by October would allow Andhra Pradesh to access central government funding for municipalities and gram panchayats. The rejection of the quota has created uncertainty over the election schedule and the state's fiscal eligibility for these central transfers. The state government's decision to escalate the matter to India's highest court signals its determination to implement the backward caste quota in local body representations. The move reflects ongoing political contestation in Andhra Pradesh over reservation policies and the allocation of local government positions.