Caste politics: Jagan camp betting on Dalits, minorities
M N Samdani, TNN, Nov 30, 2010, 03.07am IST
VIJAYAWADA: A major realignment among Dalits, minorities and backward
classes is what Jagan camp would be looking at to gain an upper hand
over the caste-driven Congress and TDP in Seemandhra region. While
Dalits and minorities are in the Congress fold, the BC communities are
strong votaries of Chandrababu Naidu's TDP.
Since the majority Kamma and Kapu communities, who comprise nearly 28%
of the total electorate in Seemandhra region, could make things tough
for the warring leader, the Jagan camp could only bet on the support
of Dalits, minorities and BCs who were the main beneficiaries of the
schemes launched by his late father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. "A majority
of the people who have turned up for Jagan's Odarpu yatra meetings
hail from these weaker sections. The time has come for him to cash in
on their support," political analyst Ramchandra Rao observed.
In spite of the fact that none of the 28 SC and seven ST legislators
from coastal and Rayalaseema regions has joined him yet, sources aver
that the Jagan camp has set its eyes on them. "With strong support
from Dalits, minorities and BCs, Jagan would bring in a political
revolution," his chief spokesperson Ambati Rambabu said. Curiously,
three Congress MPs — Harsha Kumar (Amalapuram), Panabaka Lakshmi
(Bapatla) and Chinta Mohan (Tirupati) — from the SC reserved
constituencies in Seemandhra region are bitter opponents of Jagan.
Sources said with the Congress splitting into two groups, Kammas would
now show greater enthusiasm for the success of TDP after its debacle
in its strongholds like Guntur and Prakasam districts. TDP won just
six out of 17 seats in Guntur and only one out of 11 in Prakasam
despite a strong Kamma voter presence. "The situation could see a
drastic change with Kammas closing the ranks to take on the two
Congress groups or sail with Jagan faction," a TDP functionary
observed.
Analysts, meanwhile, surmise that Kapus would not be joining hands
with Jagan because of his group's strong opposition to PRP chief
Chiranjeevi. Jagan group had played a major role in scuttling an
alliance between PRP and Congress during GHMC elections. "One of the
main reasons for Jagan leaving Congress is the party's decision to
rope in PRP into Kiran Kumar's cabinet. So, the community people may
not warm up to Jagan in the immediate scenario," an analyst reasoned.
Jagan's failure to enlist the support of senior Kapu leaders like
Botsa Satyanarayana, Kanna Lakshminarayana, Vatti Vasantha Kumar,
Perni Venkataramaiah and Mandali Budhaprasad is a pointer to the
widening gulf between Kapus and the Jagan camp, he added. "But it
remains to be seen as to how he would neutralise the influence of
these powerful communities and at the same time win over the Dalit and
BC sections," said Ramchandra Rao.
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