Domination of Reddy community is apparently a jolt to Congress and BJP who tries to woo the community by making Reddys their state presidents.
Published Aug 22, 2023 | 3:55 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 22, 2023 | 4:35 PM
KCR speaing while announcing the candidates list. (X)
Caste plays a crucial role in the outcomes in Indian politics and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao knows it too well.
With his eyes firmly set on the politically and economically dominant communities that wield influence over others, the BRS chief has given a lion’s share of tickets in the upcoming state Assembly elections to candidates from the Reddy community.
Of the 115 candidates announced by Chandrashekar Rao, popularly known as KCR, on Monday, 21 August, 40 belong to the Reddy community alone.
The move is significant not only because Reddys are a powerful caste block, but also because the state presidents of both the Congress and the BJP in Telangana — A Revanth Reddy and G Kishan Reddy — hail from the Reddy community.
Both Congress and BJP have been keen on wooing the influential community. With BRS’ generous allotment to the community in the candidates list, KCR seems to be keen on ensuring a deep split in the Reddy votes.
Reddys happen to be one of the two dominant castes in the state, though their population is only about eight to nine percent of the total.
Caste break-up of BRS candidates.
The other dominant caste is the Velama, to which Chief Minister KCR belongs. But Velamas’ population is even less than the Reddys — about two to three percent. Despite their modest populations, the BRS has given the two communities dominance in its candidate list.
The chief minister fielded 11 Velamas (including himself — seeking election from two constituencies, Gajwel and Kamareddy). Thus, Reddys and Velamas together constitute 51 of the 58 Other Castes (OCs) to whom he has given tickets.
As Kammas, though they are not significant in number, are influential in parts of the state. KCR has fielded Kammas in five seats, including Malkajgiri where a change of candidate is on the cards.
Though KCR nominated Mynampalli Hanumanth Rao, sitting MLA of Malkajgiri, has lashed out at Finance Minister T Harish Rao, blaming him for denial of ticket to his son from neighbouring Medak.
His statement came under severe fire from the senior leaders of BRS, included KT Rama Rao who defended Harish Rao.
The weightage that the Velamas and the Reddys got in the allotment of tickets is because of the enormous power of these two castes over the people in villages and also their ability to dictate the polling trends.
The two communities are largely landed gentry and draw power from being landlords and have a vice-like grip on the voters — especially farmers belonging to the Backward Classess (BCs) and other weaker sections.
Several critics of the Rythu Bandhu scheme launched by KCR have often pointed to how the scheme helps BRS keep landed gentry — like Reddys and Velamas — in good humour for electoral favours in return.
KCR’s decision to bestow Rythu Bandhu scheme, which offers ₹10,000 per acre per year to the owner regardless of the extent of land one possesses, had come as a surprise because the dominant castes that have large land holdings were not in need of any financial support from the government.
Yet the chief minister did not fix any ceiling, and as a result, the financial benefit in lakhs goes to the dominant castes that have large land holdings.
Earlier, in an interview with South First, BJP leader Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy had said that the government should put a limit to the scheme, in a way that people with more than 10 acres of land made ineligible for Rythu Bandhu.
As they wield influence in villages, they are the obvious choice to field them as candidates in the Assembly elections which would help KCR further consolidate his position.
Despite a hue and cry by the BCs that tickets should be allotted to them in proportion to their population, which is more than half of the state, the chief minister nominated only 22 BCs.
Backward classes are another caste bloc that the Congress and the BJP are eyeing to woo this election season, with the BJP even making Eatala Rajendar the chief of its Election Management Committee.
The Congress, on the other hand, is said to be looking to draft in more BC candidates with Revanth Reddy, as its chief, already winning confidence among dominant Reddy community members.
Though 19 seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC), KCR nominated one more SC candidate to a general seat, taking the number to 20.
The BRS is heavily banking on its flagship scheme of Dalit Bandhu to help retain its SC vote bank and stop splitting the votes in favour of the Congress or the BJP.
KCR also named 12 Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates to as many reserved seats on Monday. The BRS government is looking at land titles for STs as a means to win the community’s confidence for the upcoming polls.
Only three candidates belonging to minority communities have found their space in the BRS’ candidate list, especially given that the party is sure of allowing AIMIM to win Muslim-dominated seats in Hyderabad. The list also sees one Brahmin and Vysya candidate each.
Only seven women made it to the list. When asked about the poor representation of women when he released the list, the chief minister said that he was aware of it.
If there is a reservation for women in legislative houses, then all parties would have to field women for the reserved seats. By implication, he was referring to the need for a level playing field for all the parties which was possible only when there is a law in this regard.
KCR’s statement comes at a time his daughter and BRS MLC Kavitha Kalvakuntla staged a protest in Delhi demanding the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament.
With a majority of candidate names announced over three months before elections, KCR is expected to make changes to the list depending on the candidate list of the BJP and the Congress.
