TDP national president and former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday said that the party is so strong today because of the strong support from the Backward Classes (BCs) of society. The BCs are the backbone for the TDP, he said.

Chandrababu Naidu said that the TDP founder and the former chief minister, late NT Rama Rao, had politically encouraged and promoted the BCs and the distinction of the BCs should now be viewed before and after the TDP. The earlier rulers considered the community only as a vote bank and they enjoyed power only after NT Rama Rao became the chief minister of the State.

Chandrababu chaired the programme wherein the TDP’s BC wing and the Empowerment Committee of the party took oath in Vijayawada where thousands of the party activists attended. Addressing the meeting, he recalled that NT Rama Rao even introduced reservation for BCs in the local bodies.

“As NTR introduced 24 per cent of reservations for the community, after I came to power I increased it to 34 per cent,” he said, adding that after Jagan Mohan Reddy became the Chief Minister of the State it came down to 10 per cent. Following this, at least 16,000 BC leaders have lost their posts, he pointed out and asked as to why the YSRCP could not continue the 34 per cent quota for the community.

The TDP national president said that when the party was given sole representation in the Union Cabinet, the post was given to Yerran Naidu and several BC leaders were posted in focal positions in the State too only with a view to making them partners in the power. He said that the community always stood by the TDP and at least 90 per cent of the community is now with the party.

Naidu recalled the programmes introduced by him for the uplift of the community and its welfare and said that it is only the TDP government that introduced a sub-plan for the BCs.