Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s declaration in Hyderabad on Saturday that his government will be setting up a committee to consider the sub-categorisation of the Madiga community in Telangana within the Scheduled Castes category, is something that the BJP hopes to reap political dividends of in 2024.
The announcement, made at a huge rally in the poll-going State of Telangana in the presence of community leader Manda Krishna Madiga and under the aegis of the Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS), is being considered part of the BJP’s “three Ms” strategy — to get the support of the Munnur Kapu, Mudiraju, Madiga communities — for making inroads into Telangana, if not during the Assembly election then at least for the Lok Sabha poll in 2024.
The Madiga community constitutes at least 50% of the total Scheduled Castes in Telangana, with the 2011 census putting the total SCs at a little over 15% of the population of the State. For years, the Madiga community has said that the benefits of reservation under the SC category has been cornered by the Mala community, with the Madigas being left out.
