Former MP Chegondi Harirama Jogaiah’s hunger strike to ensure 5% reservation for general category Kapu castes under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota was withdrawn just a day after it commenced on January 4, 2023. Jogaiah had, in December 2022, warned the YSRCP-led state government in Andhra Pradesh that if the reservation wasn’t announced, he would launch a fast-unto-death. But a call from Jana Sena party chief Pawan Kalyan assuring the octogenarian that Pawan himself would take up the fight for the Kapus got Jogaiah to give up his agitation. Pawan, a popular film actor and a heavy critic of both YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) at that point, is considered a major face of the Kapu community and holds significant sway over younger Kapu voters.
While some Kapu castes like Munnurkapu and Toorpukapu are classified under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category in Andhra Pradesh and in Telangana, other Kapu castes like Kapu, Balija, Telaga, and Ontari fall under the general category and don’t have any specific reservations.
It’s the latter group that has been demanding reservations for several decades now — first under the BC category, and more recently, a horizontal reservation under the EWS category. Several strikes, protests, and fasts have been conducted since the late 1980s by Kapu stalwarts such as politician Mudragada Padmanabham, actor Chiranjeevi, Kapu Joint Action Committee leader Vasireddy Yesudas, and others.