There are many dynamics at play between the Kapu community and coastal Andhra that political parties are vying for.
A snap from the Kapu Garjana event in Tuni, 2016. (Telugu People)
All political parties in Andhra Pradesh seem to be betting on the Kapu community, a peasant caste estimated to make up around 20 percent of the state’s population with a decisive role in elections in the coastal region.
But which side will they lean towards?
The community leaders have been trying for the position of chief minister for a few decades now.
However, their earlier efforts failed when a popular actor in the Telugu film industry from the community merged his party with the Congress. With his younger brother’s entry into the arena, they now see hope.
The region, predominantly occupied by the Kamma and Kapu communities, has long nurtured the grievance of being politically marginalised during the Reddy-dominated Congress rule.
In 1983, the majority of the Kapu community backed NTR’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in response.
However, a setback occurred with the prominent Kapu leader and the Congress MLA Vangaveeti Mohan Ranga’s assassination in 1988 and allegations against the TDP.
This led to the majority of the community shifting their loyalties to the Congress in the 1989 general assembly elections. Incidentally, the TDP led by NTR lost the elections.
Vangaveeti Mohan Ranga, a late Congress leader on his campaign trail. (Supplied)
As time passed, a small segment of Kapu leaders and those from the business community shifted to the TDP led by Chandrababu Naidu, while the majority remained with the Congress. And the polarisation continues.
The Kapus became loyal to YS Rajasekhar Reddy (YSR), and his schemes such as Aarogya Sri, a health insurance card for treatment in private hospitals, and reimbursement for college students have further strengthened the bond with the peasant community.
These two schemes are the first of their kind seen by the state’s population, directed towards the peasant and weaker sections.
But, the key Kapu leaders’ quest to take over the chief minister chair remained a dream and then came the Praja Rajyam, a political party floated by one of the community icons.
Konidela Siva Sankara Vara Prasad, popularly known as Mega Star Chiranjeevi, joined politics with “Praja Rajyam” and fought against the state’s two stalwarts, Rajasekhar Reddy-led Congress, and Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP. The Kapus hoped to gain political power, felt to be denied to them.
However, the actor suffered a debacle in the elections, as he got only 18 seats out of the 288 contested with a 16.3 percent vote share.
The launch of Praja Rajyam party. (Extra Mirchi)
Dasaradi Sharma, a political analyst, told South First, “It is largely assumed that Kapus didn’t support Chiranjeevi, but not true. Out of around 20 percent of Kapus, he got the majority 10 percent of the votes.”
“The major reason for his loss was that barring Kapus, none of the other communities voted for him. This was due to YSR’s popular schemes directed towards the weaker sections, and also the Kapus were not been able to gather support from other communities, mostly from the BCs,” he added.
To everyone’s surprise, post-YSR’s death, Chiranjeevi merged his party with the Congress in 2011 and got a place in the Union Cabinet.
It is believed that the Kapu leaders, including his younger brother Pawan Kalyan, were not in sync with the merger.
Later, Chiranjeevi opposed the bifurcation of the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh. After the bifurcation, he stayed away from politics and returned to the film industry.
With Pawan Kalyan launching the new party Jana Sena in 2014 a few months before the elections, Kapu leaders revived their hope of getting the CM position. However, with little time left, Pawan Kalyan extended his support and campaigned for the BJP-TDP alliance, which won the 2014 assembly elections.
For many decades, the Kapu community has been demanding reservations by placing them in the Backward Class (BC) category, claiming to be economically backward.
In 1993, the Kapus organised the initial significant protest to be included in the ‘Backward Castes.’ A government order was subsequently issued, incorporating them into the ‘Backward Castes.’ Kapu leaders allege that the TDP, which assumed power in 1994, failed to fulfil this directive.
Later in 2016, an agitation led by Kapu leader and former MP Mudragada Padmanabham caused massive violence, leading to the burning down of the Ratnachal Express at Tuni.
Cases were booked against at least 41 people, including Padmanabham. Senior Kapu leaders questioned Pawan Kalyan’s liaising with TDP despite the non-implementation of the promise.
In December 2017, the state Assembly adopted a Bill to provide five percent reservation to the Kapus, seeking a Constitutional amendment from the Union government as it would exceed the 50 percent ceiling for reservation imposed by the Supreme Court.
The blame was put on the BJP for not realising it by the TDP, which stepped out of the alliance.
The Kapu meeting turned violent, led to the Ratnachal express on burnt. (Telugu People)
As the BJP-led Union government introduced the 103rd Constitution Amendment of 2019, the state government included the Kapus in the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) with five percent reservation exclusively for them and another five percent for the rest of the EWS.
The amendment provides for 10 percent reservation to EWS other than backward classes, SCs, and STs in higher educational institutions and government jobs,
But in the 2019 elections, the Kapu vote was divided between the Jana Sena, the YSRCP and the TDP.
The Jana Sena won a single seat with a vote share of around six percent, while the YSRCP won 151 seats with a 50 percent vote share, and the TDP won 23 seats with a 40 percent vote share.
The first move of the new YSRCP government under YS Jagan Mohan Reddy as chief minister was against the community. The cancellation of the five percent reservation.
This move led to an uproar within the community and even within the party. Jagan blamed Naidu for diverting Kapus to the five percent reservation, which halted recruitment as some from other communities approached the High court.
The next issue was the Cabinet ministers’ bad mothing Pawan Kalyan, which was seen as particular targeting.
In another instance, the Kapus agitated against the renaming of East Godavari district after Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema. The protestors even set fire to the houses of SC minister Pinipe Viswarup and MLA Ponnada Satish Kumar.
Further, with TDP losing its elections, limited to only 23 seats, Pawan Kalyan wanted a tie-up with the BJP and his vacillation attracted severe criticism.
The government restrained Pawan Kalyan from moving out of a hotel in Vizag for two days, to prevent his visit to the controversial Rushikonda where the government was constructing a tourism project, but the Opposition alleged it was the chief minister’s residence.
This is when Pawan Kalyan and Chandrababu Naidu met for the first time after the 2019 elections, and later Pawan Kalyan promised not to divide the Opposition votes, indirectly hinting at the alliance.
Fewer Kapu ministers were advocating for YS Jagan in the coastal districts.
“To further counter Pawan Kalyan, Jagan and the party have planned to induct former Indian cricketer Ambati Rayudu and Kapu leader Padmanabham. Both are seen as potential assets for Jagan to counter Pawan Kalyan in the coastal districts,” sources said.
However, within ten days Rayudu quit the YSRCP and, in a few days, met Pawan Kalyan at his party office. Similarly, Padmanabham is also set to join the Jana Sena, as confirmed by Bolisetti Srinivas.
Senior political analyst Telakapalli Ravi told South First, “Pawan Kalyan has turned the tables by taking a step to talk with Padmanabham, as YS Jagan’s plan is preempted.”
“The big chunk of voters from the community seems to see him as an emerging leader from the community. On the other hand, the single leader phenomenon by Jagan and not satisfying the community can be said to be key factors for the Kapus aligning with Pawan Kalyan,” Ravi added.
However, “YSRCP now wants to go with the BC factor in Coastal Andhra. Kapu leaders joining the Jana Sena can also positively help it to alienate Pawan Kalyan from other communities. Also, an alliance vote share is very unlikely considering the feud between Kammas and Kapus,” a source said.
“As far as the legacy is concerned, Vangaveeti Radha, son of slain leader Ranga, is set to join the YSRCP soon. Also, it was YSRCP which dropped the cases against the community leaders in the Ratnachal train issue,” source claimed.
“Kapu Nestham scheme covers 3.57 lakh Kapu women in 45-60 age group each receiving Rs 15,000 annually, and the rest of the women are covered under other Navaratnalu (nine welfare schemes),” the source added.
Former MP Chegondi Harirama Jogaiah, founder of Kapu Samkshema Sena, who extended support to Pawan Kalyan, told South First, “Most of the Kapus are with Pawan Kalyan, with many reasons that Jagan ditched the community, including the removal of reservation from EWC and no discussion on the BC reservation status.”
When asked if the joining of Padmanabham would impact the BC votes, he replied, “It is just a perception created by YSRCP. There is no such rivalry between the Kapu community and BCs.”
“But without power sharing to Pawan Kalyan in the alliance, there are doubts on the vote transfer, as many want to see Pawan Kalyan as the Chief Minister get disappointed,” he said.
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