Andhra Pradesh’s new cabinet does not reflect the diverse groups that voted TDP-JSP-BJP to power

In the 2019 election, the YSRCP secured 151 assembly seats with 50 per cent vote share by promising the Special Category Status (SCS) for the state and the Navaratnalu (nine jewels) welfare schemes. The SCS was promised on the floor of Parliament at the time of AP’s bifurcation in 2014. The YSRCP promised to relentlessly pursue this promise. Within a short time, however, the promise was set aside and the state entered a deep financial crisis. Another promise made during the 2019 election was prohibition, but a huge number of shops, selling locally-made liquor at a higher price than branded ones, were opened. Jagan’s government also started more than two dozen caste-based finance corporations without financial resources and Dalit sub-plan funds were diverted. The volunteer-based Village Secretariat System (VSS) was introduced, but it was reduced to being an agency of the state government. The VSS became a parallel administration, with minimal participation of citizens in decision-making and the sidelining of elected public representatives of the local bodies. The issue of three state capitals, initiated by the Jagan government, became a politically and legally contentious issue.

The recent elections and NDA’s victory are unusual, compared to the elections of 2014 and 2019 in terms of the support from the different social categories. As per the post-poll survey of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS)-Lokniti, the alliance got support from segments like Backward Classes, Kammas, Gouds, Kapus, Dalits and tribals. More men than women voted for the alliance, as did the lower middle class, upper middle class and rich in rural and urban areas, including government employees.

However, in the cabinet formed under Naidu’s leadership, the dominant castes have greater representation, with a disproportionate distribution of berths in terms of population size. Apart from the CM position,the Kammas have got four cabinet positions, with four for Kapus, three for Reddys. Out of more than 100 Backward Class groups, which comprise more than 50 per cent of the population, only eight castes have got one position each, with the SCs getting two, STs one and minorities one.

The different segments of society voted for the TDP alliance with high expectations about Super Six guarantees in the election manifesto, which promised welfare and development. There are two policy implications of the overwhelming support from different segments of society to the alliance. One is in terms of maintaining cordial relations with the Union government, as a significant player in the coalition at the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the BJP, and the other is accommodation in positions of power and policy initiatives.

Addressing issues and challenges before the alliance government in the state requires the strong support of the Union government. These include the building of a world-class capital at Amaravati, and the completion of the Polavaram project, which has been pending since 2014. The state government will also need to work on fulfilling the election promises, including 4 per cent reservations for Muslims, implementation of the Backward Classes Atrocities Act, recruitment of teachers and various group services in the State Public Service Commission, paying salary arrears to employees of the state government, free bus service for women, and budget allocations for finance corporations of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes and minorities welfare.

The writer is Professor of Political Science, Hyderabad Central University