The Telugu Desam Party and the YCP are locked in an intense battle for the BC vote bank. The TDP held ‘Jayaho BC’ public meeting at Rajamahendravaram while YCP held ‘BC Garjana’ at Elur. CM Chandrababu Naidu says Jaganmohan Reddy’s frustration is exposed after how hurriedly his party conducted BC public meeting. It was clear Jagan was agitated over the enormous success of TDP’s Jayaho BC meeting.

Naidu asserted that nobody can change the fact that the BCs are the backbone of TDP and they stood behind the party through ups and downs.

Jagan’s promise on giving legality to BC sub plan also earned criticism. Naidu said the TDP government had already given that legality and Jagan’s statement had only exposed his lack of awareness. Both TDP and YCP held their BC meetings in Godavari districts considering the vital importance of this vote bank. The TDP is taking special precautions to retain its traditional BC vote bank by conducting frequent programmes.

The twin Godavari districts are different from the rest of the state. Jana Sena’s presence is leading to triangular contests in many assembly segments. This is the reason by TDP is anxious to retain its hold on BCs while YCP is eager to attract some share of this vote bank.

G.Ravikiran