The two dominant castes – Kammas and Reddys – constitute a mere five percent and eight percent respectively of Andhra Pradesh population. Yet, their representation is significantly higher than numerically larger OBC.
YSRCP Chief and CM YS Jagan and TDP Chief Chandrababu Naidu.
The elections in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled for 13 May, are not merely a contest between political parties but also a rivalry between two prominent families: the YSR and NTR families.
The ruling YSRCP, led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, banks on the legacy of his father YS Rajasekhara Reddy. Conversely, the Telugu Desam Party is helmed by Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the son-in-law of NT Rama Rao.
Both the chiefs hail from the Rayalaseema region and belong to two dominant caste power blocs: Reddy and Kamma.
Interestingly, the Kammas and Reddys are estimated to constitute only five percent and eight percent of the state’s population, respectively.
Yet, their representation is significantly higher in the unreserved seats in the legislature compared to numerically larger groups.
The numerically larger Kapu community, a forward peasant caste, and the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) have been advocating for reservation and a greater share of seats.
Also, despite claims from both YSRCP and TDP of upliftment and opportunities to the Dalits and tribal communities, a scrutiny of candidate lists from the 2014, 2019, and 2024 elections reveals that neither party has nominated any SC or ST candidates in the unreserved category.
Historically, since 1956, the Reddys have held the chief minister’s position 14 times (13 from Congress, one from YSRCP), while the Kammas have held it seven times (NTR and Chandrababu Naidu together accounting for six times).
Additionally, individuals from Dalit, Brahmin, Vaishya, and Velama communities have also held the position, all from the Congress, once each.
The state has around 40.8 million voters spread across 175 assembly constituencies, with 29 being reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and 7 reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST).
The OBC population, comprising 139 subcastes, constitutes around 49-50 percent, and among the forward communities, the Kapus are estimated to be the single largest at around 18-21 percent.
Further, the SCs are estimated to be around 19 percent of the population, while STs constitute about five and a half percent. Additionally, Muslims are estimated to comprise around eight percent of the state’s population.
Both parties have traditionally relied on these demographics for electoral support.
The Andhra Pradesh government’s caste-wide census conducted from 19 January 2023, to 15 February 2024, is yet to be published.
Despite comprising nearly 50 percent of the population, the OBCs, on average across the three lists (2014, 2019, and 2024), received only 36 nominations from TDP and 38 from YSRCP for unreserved seats out of a total of 139 out of 175 seats.
In contrast, the Reddys, accounting for approximately eight percent of the population, have on average secured 26 nominations from TDP and 51 from the YSRCP.
On the other hand, though the Kammas constitute only around five percent of the population, they received an average nomination of 35 candidates from TDP and 11 from YSRCP.
Meanwhile, the Kapus received the third-largest share of nominations, with an average of 25 seats in the YSRCP and 17 seats in the TDP for the three terms.
In the forthcoming elections, the YSRCP has nominated only 41 candidates from the BC community, 7 from minorities, and a whopping 91 from the forward community in the 139 unreserved seats.
Among the 91 candidates from the forward community, 49 are Reddys.
The YSRCP has allotted 23 seats to the Kapu community, constituting its second-largest share in the forward group. The Kammas, traditional power rivals of the Reddys, have secured nine seats.
As on 27 March, the candidates caste composition. (Click to enlarge)
Other communities in forward groups such as the Kshatriyas got five seats, Vysyas three, Brahmins and Velamas one each.
In contrast, the OBCs have been allocated only 41 seats, and other seven seats for minorities.
Among the BCs, 18 different sub-communities got the tickets. The Turpu Kapus, a sub-caste of the Kapus that falls in BC and is mostly present in North Andhra regions, have secured seven seats, and two sub-castes of the Velamas, Koppula Velama and Pollinati Velama under the BC tag secured seven seats.
The other backward peasant castes such as Goudas obtained five seats, and Yadavas received four seats.
The pattern of forward caste domination is the same in the TDP as well. The yellow party, in alliance with the JSP-BJP, is set to contest 144 assembly seats out of 175, with 139 candidates announced so far.
One candidacy initially announced for P. Gannavaram has been withdrawn and given over to the Jana Sena.
As of 27 March, out of the 138 candidates announced, 109 fall under the unreserved category. Among this, the forward castes have secured a majority share with 77 seats, with the Kammas obtaining 30.
Interestingly, the Reddys almost equalled the Kammas with 29 seats. The Velamas got seven seats.
The Kapus got 10 seats, the Kshatriyas five, the Vysyas two, and the Velamas one.
On the other hand, the OBCs have secured just 29 seats and minorities three seats. Among the OBCs, the Turpu Kapus have secured two seats.
The other backward castes such as the Yadavas got six seats, the Goudas three, while the Setti Balijas got two seats, and nine other OBC communities secured one seat each.
Earlier, both in the 2019 and 2014 elections, the scenario was similar with the Reddys and the Kammas occupying a majority position, disproportionate to their population, in seat allotment.
During the 2014 elections, out of 139 unreserved seats, the YSRCP nominated only 37 BC candidates, four Muslims, and 98 candidates from forward caste communities.
2014 candidates list caste-wise composition. (Click to enlarge)
Whereas the TDP, in alliance with JSP-BJP, contested 165 constituencies out of the total 175.
Out of 131 unreserved seats, the TDP nominated 39 candidates from the OBC community, one from the Muslim community, and 91 from the forward castes.
The TDP, in alliance with the BJP-TDP, came to power with the yellow party winning 102 seats, while the YSRCP emerged as the main opposition with 67 seats.
Both parties together sent only 33 OBCs (5-YSRCP, 28-TDP) to the assembly. The Reddys (31-YSRCP, 9-TDP) and Kammas (29-TDP, 3-YSRCP) outnumbered them with 40 and 32 seats, respectively.
The next standing-forward community group was the Kapus with 17 seats (14-TDP, 3-YSRCP). There was no Muslim representation from the TDP, whereas from the YSRCP four Muslim MLAs have won the elections.
During the 2019 elections, the YSRCP nominated only 36 BC and five minority candidates out of 139 unreserved seats, while allotting 98 seats to the forward castes.
2019 candidates list caste-wise composition. (Click to enlarge)
On the other hand, the TDP nominated 40 candidates from OBC castes, three from Muslims, and 96 from forward communities.
In 2019, what many referred to as the YS Jagan wave swept the elections, resulting in the YSRCP winning 151 seats, while the TDP was restricted to just 23 seats.
However, the representation of OBCs in the house this time did not see an increase and remained at 33 seats (27- YSRCP, and 6-TDP).
Meanwhile, the representation of Reddys has increased to 49 from the YSRCP alone, compared to 40 Reddy MLAs combined from YSRCP and TDP in 2014.
This is followed by Kapus with 24 seats. The representation of Kammas has decreased to 19, as most candidates nominated by the TDP lost the elections.
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