Hyderabad: In November 2023, just days before the Telangana Assembly polls, the Congress high command made a strategic move. It chose Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, hailing from an Other Backward Classes (OBC) community, to unveil the party’s ‘Kamareddy Declaration’, a comprehensive promise offering numerous incentives, including 42% reservations, to backward classes.
Siddaramaiah was a symbolically powerful choice. As an OBC leader who rose to become chief minister of a neighboring state, his endorsement of the Kamareddy Declaration aligned perfectly with the grand old party’s national narrative of ‘jitni abadi, utna haq’ (rights proportional to population), a phrase coined by Rahul Gandhi.
The strategy succeeded. In the Assembly election, the Congress decisively defeated the incumbent Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and formed its first government in Telangana since the state’s formation a decade earlier.
Nearly 18 months after assuming power, the Congress government in Telangana began the painstaking process of fulfilling its campaign commitments. The administration conducted a comprehensive door-to-door survey -- Socio-Economic, Education, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) -- enumerated the BC population and passed Bills in Assembly to provide 42% reservation to the BCs. The Bills were referred to the President by the governor, and have been pending assent since then.
With the legislative route taking a roadblock, the Congress has taken its advocacy to the streets. This is also because the ‘Telangana model’ represents more than regional politics, and serves as a potential template for the party’s national strategy.
By gathering empirical data through extensive surveys before determining reservation percentages, the Congress demonstrates a data-driven approach designed to foster long-term political loyalty among this significant voter segment.
According to the SEEEPC survey of 2024, the most comprehensive study on castes conducted in Telangana, BCs account for approximately 56.33% of the state’s population. This breaks down to 46.25% Hindu BCs and 10.08% Muslim BCs.
The Telangana Assembly passed two crucial Bills in March 2025, the Telangana Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats and Appointments) Bill, 2025, and the Telangana Backward Classes (Reservation in Rural and Urban Local Bodies) Bill, 2025.
These Bills propose significant increases in quotas — BCs would receive 42% (up from 29%), Scheduled Castes 18% (from 15%), and Scheduled Tribes 10% (from 6%). If approved, total reservations would reach 70%, far exceeding the Supreme Court’s cap of 50%.
In July 2025, following a high court directive to complete the reservation process by September 30, 2025, the Telangana Cabinet approved 42% reservation for BCs in local body elections and promulgated an ordinance to implement this decision.
The Congress government has intensified the efforts to position itself as the champion of BC interests. Telangana Congress leaders recently camped in Delhi for three days, staging protests at Jantar Mantar demanding presidential assent for the Bills. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy led the demonstration, underscoring his government’s commitment to the cause.
R Dileep Reddy, former Andhra Pradesh Information Commissioner and noted political analyst, said it is not unjust to provide 42% reservations to backward classes that, according to the SEEEPC survey, constitute more than half the population.
“The Bills now pending presidential approval represent an important step towards fulfilling the Congress party’s Kamareddy Declaration and the larger national demand for reservations proportional to population,” he told DH.
Reddy, however, suggested that demonstrating political will requires tangible action beyond legislative measures. “To show genuine commitment to BC empowerment while awaiting the President’s approval, Congress should provide 42% tickets to BCs in the upcoming local body polls and consider appointing a BC deputy chief minister,” he said.
Without such concrete steps, he argued, Congress cannot credibly claim to replicate the Telangana template nationally.
The path forward presents challenges. Another analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity, pointed out missed opportunities. “The I.N.D.I.A bloc had a wonderful opportunity with the
Vice President polls. They should have fielded a BC candidate instead of an upper-caste Reddy.”
Notably, the Opposition’s V-P nominee, former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy, previously chaired the Independent Expert Working Group that analysed Telangana’s SEEEPC survey and submitted a comprehensive 300-page report that formed the basis for the 42% reservation decision.
The reservation issue has taken a communal turn, with the BJP accusing the ruling Congress of orchestrating a conspiracy to benefit Muslims at the expense of Hindu BCs.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay has been particularly vocal in his opposition. “Under the guise of a BC Bill, 10% quota is being diverted to Muslims, with only 32% actually going to BCs,” he claimed. “Congress has shattered the Kamareddy Declaration and betrayed BCs. This is not a BC declaration, it’s undeniably a Muslim declaration,” he said.
The BJP maintains that religion-based reservation contradicts the Constitution and demands that the full 42% quota be reserved exclusively for Hindu BCs.
As legal challenges remain regarding the breach of the 50% reservation cap and the process to secure protection under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, the Telangana experiment remains under intense scrutiny. The outcome will likely influence Congress’ approach to similar initiatives in other states and shape the national discourse on caste-based reservations in the years ahead.