Candidates from the Reddy, Kamma and Kapu communities have secured the most number of nominations to unreserved seats for the forthcoming Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, as indicated by the seat allocation by the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) comprising the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Jana Sena Party (JSP).
The Andhra Pradesh Assembly has 175 seats, out of which 29 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and seven for the Scheduled Tribes (STs). Out of the remaining 139 unreserved seats, the YSRCP and the NDA have earmarked over 80 seats for the Reddy, Kamma and Kapu communities.
According to the list of candidates released by the YSRCP and the NDA partners, the Reddy community accounts for 78, while there are 41 people from the Kapu community and 43 from the Kamma community in the electoral fray.
Of the 78 Reddy aspirants, 49 have been fielded by the ruling YSRCP while 29 have been fielded by the NDA. Of the 41 Kapu candidates, 23 have been chosen by the YSRCP and 18 by the NDA.
Out of the 43 Kamma candidates, the TDP-BJP-JSP alliance has fielded 34, while the ruling YSRCP has fielded nine candidates.
In contrast to their proclamations of championing the cause of the backward classes, the ruling YSRCP and the opposition NDA have allotted the lion’s share of Assembly tickets to the Kammas and Reddys. While the YSRCP has decided to field Backward Classes (BCs) from 41 Assembly constituencies, the NDA has preferred to field 28 BC leaders. The YSRCP gave tickets to seven people from the minority community, and one each from the Brahmin and Velama castes. Three Vysyas are in the fray on a YSRCP ticket.
While the YSRCP is contesting the elections alone, the TDP decided to join hands with the NDA. Of the 175 seats, the TDP is contesting 144 constituencies, leaving the rest to the BJP and JSP. The BJP has selected three candidates from the Kamma community and two from the Kshatriya community. Another candidate was selected from the Reddy community, taking the total general category seats to six out of a total 10. Two seats were allocated to BCs, and one each to SC and ST.
The 175 Assembly seats together represent a population close to 4.80 crore. Even in the 2019 elections, these three politically influential castes cornered about two-thirds of the Assembly seats, winning in more than 90 constituencies.
