Upper caste corridors in Telangana? Decoding BRS candidates

The list shows the indifference by KCR, as he is widely known, to the demands of various backward caste groups for more if not proportional representation. KCR sought to silence all those castes who are organizing caste conclaves for more seats by stating that BRS was not a mutt, it was a political party and the candidates had been chosen based on winnability as the criterion.

Since SC and ST constituencies enjoy constitutional protection, KCR did not touch them, otherwise he would have fielded Reddys or Velamas in these areas as well, said an observer commenting on the caste composition of the list.

This kind of caste composition is unimplementable for any other party in Telangana. Had this been done either in Congress or BJP, it would have created an upheaval in the party.

Dominant castes

KCR announced 115 candidates in a House of 119. Only four are kept pending. Reddys with 6 per cent population got 40 seats while the demographically miniscule Velama caste, which does not make up even 1 per cent of the population, cornered 11 seats. Incidentally, KCR hails from Velamas. The third influential caste, Kamma, who are mostly settlers from Andhra Pradesh and confined to a few pockets, has been allotted 5 seats.

And most importantly, the BC, who constitute more than 52 percent, have been given only 23 seats (Munnuru Kapu 11, Yadavas 5, Gouds 4, Padmashali 1, Besta 1 and Vanjari 1). Another curious aspect is the little importance given to women. Just three months ago, the chief minister’s daughter K Kavitha organized a day-long ‘diksha’ in New Delhi demanding the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in the legislative bodies. Now, she did not react when her father’s party gave just seven seats to the women.

Reddy and Velamas

Reddy caste is not only the most influential but also a politically well-organized community. No party that wants to come to power can afford to ignore them. The first thing political parties do is to appease the Reddys. Realizing the importance of the caste, the BJP and Congress have appointed Reddy as president of the state units. Regional parties try to win over the caste by fielding more candidates. BRS circles consider the fielding of 40 Reddys as a masterstroke by KCR to pre-empt Congress’ ‘brazen attempt’ to unite Reddys.

“PCC president A Revanth Reddy has openly called Reddys to come back to Congress by stating that it was their party. KCR, as Velama, is susceptible to branding as anti-Reddy easily. By giving 40 seats to Reddys, KCR has made BRS a Reddy party by appearance even though the real power lies somewhere else. It is a clever move by KCR as It’s not possible for Congress or BJP to imitate this,” opined noted political commentator Dr. Pentapati Pullarao.

Though KCR was not the first Velama chief minister, the caste has never become a politically visible community. Jalagam Vengal Rao, a Congress veteran, was the chief minister between 1973 and 1978 in the United Andhra Pradesh. But he could not make the caste a political community. Later the Party chose M Chenna Reddy as his successor. After that, there had been no CM from the Velma until the arrival of KCR on the scene in 2014.

Now KCR, who toppled Reddys from political leadership, is trying to increase the Velama’s representation in the Assembly by allocating more seats from the areas where they are numerically insignificant.

BJP view

Dharmapuri Arvind, a BJP MP from Nizamabad, says the fielding of 11 Velama candidates from BRS is a deliberate attempt to create a Velama corridor in the state. “All Velama candidates, including chief minister KCR, his son KTR and nephew Harish Rao are contesting from constituencies where Padmashali, a strong BC community, is a force to reckon with. In the same vein, constituencies like Vemulawada and Korutla, where Velama candidates are chosen are also Padmashali areas. If you see on the map, it looks like a Velama corridor in the Padmashali belt. The move denies the BC caste its due share in politics once and for all,” Arvind said.

The fielding of 5 Kamma candidates is also considered by many observers as an attempt to foil the regrouping of the Kammas by TDP.

“KCR doesn’t want to give an impression that he is anti-Kamma. Kammas were branded as settlers during the Telangana movement which is a thing of the past. Now, at a time when he is trying to hit a hat trick as CM, there is a need to come closer to all influential and rich castes. So, KCR liberally allocated seats to five Kammas as the revival of TDP by Chandrababu Naidu is on the cards,” a political commentator who doesn’t want to be quoted said.

BC share

KCR ignored individual demands from BC communities. A few days ago, Padmashalis held a huge rally in Korutla, where the caste outnumbers others, demanding more seats for the caste. KCR did not yield and denied them even Korutla constituency.

Another important caste totally absent from the list is Mudiraj. “KCR knows very well that BCs lack unity. And BCs is also an empty slogan. So, he is fielding Reddys and Velamas from the areas where one BC caste or the other is a force. If he repeats this experiment, upper caste candidates gain the upper hand and local BCs lose claim over time. It's a clever move to sideline the BCs,” said Dasari Srinivasulu, a BC activist from Warangal.