Ahead of the ensuing local body polls in the State, the Kuruba community has demanded that the State government accord priority to it in politically significant positions.

Shepherd India International and the South India Kuruba, Kuruma, Kurumbhan, Kuruvam, and Dhangar Sangham conducted a meeting in Tirupati on Sunday, which was attended by Karnataka State Guarantee Schemes Implementation Authority Chairman H.M. Revanna, also a former Cabinet Minister, as the chief guest.

Recalling that the community had not been elected so far as MLC in Andhra Pradesh, he demanded that the NDA government offer at least two seats for the community, one of which should be from the TDP, in view of the promise made by the Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to the community in the past.

The meeting adopted a single-line resolution recommending the MLC seat to its South India president, Jabbala Srinivas, with an announcement to form a delegation soon to meet Mr Naidu, working president Nara Lokesh, and Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan.

Ramrao Wadkute, a Rajya Sabha member from Maharashtra, offered to meet the BJP national president Nitin Nabin and the Home Minister Amit Shah soon for proper representation to the community.

The meeting also demanded a five-acre site in Tirupati for a community building, ‘Kanaka Bhavan’ and a ‘Kanaka Hostel’ for accommodating the poor students hailing from the community.