The Janasena Party (JSP) held a ‘Kapu Atmeya Sammelam’ meeting at Tadepalligudem in Andhra’s West Godavari on Wednesday, November 2. The meeting was held in response to a similar gathering held on October 31 by the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). Kapus are a numerically strong Telugu caste. Ahead of the 2024 Assembly elections in the state, political parties are vying with each other to attract their large voter base.
At Wednesday's meeting, Tadepalligudem JSP in-charge Bolisetti Srinivas questioned the motives of the Kapu leaders of YSRCP, and accused the party of “playing the caste-card”. He said, “The YSRCP leaders feared that Kapus would support the JSP. So they hoped to confuse the voters by holding the meeting. Did they speak about Kapus while you were in the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)? All these ‘package star’ leaders sold off the community to YSRCP.”
Speaking to TNM, he said, “The Kapus are more vigilant than ever now. Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has done nothing for the community. He scrapped their reservation. The Rs 2000 crores fund promised to the Kapu corporation has not been given. He cancelled the policies of former CM Chandrababu Naidu. We organised the meeting with our official representatives to counter the meeting of the ruling party which is playing the caste-card and also to teach them a lesson.”
The meeting organised by the YSRCP on October 31 was attended by Deputy CM Kottu Satyanarayana, Minister of Water Resources Ambati Rambabu, Minister of Education Botsa Satyanaraya and other ministers, MLAs and MLCs. YSRCP leaders passed three resolutions in the meeting and decided to hold a forum soon in Vijayawada with Kapu representatives to discuss future programmes. All Kapu leaders are to have one-on-one meetings with senior leaders to discuss their future responsibilities. Additionally, it was decided that door-to-door outreach efforts to inform the public of the steps taken by the current government to ensure the upliftment of Kapus will be undertaken.
Speaking to the media after the event, Minister Ambati Rambabu accused former Chief Minister and TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu of committing atrocities against Kapu leaders Vangaveeti Mohan Ranga and Mudragada Padmanabham. “Kapus are able to lead a life of dignity and respect today under CM Jagan Mohan Reddy’s leadership. Statistics prove this. We have warned on several occasions that Pawan Kalyan is trying to give Kapu votes to Chandrababu Naidu. Their plan was exposed in their recent meeting,” he argued.
The parties’ early efforts to attract voters should be seen in the backdrop of JSP chief Pawan Kalyan’s visit to Visakhapatnam. He was served a notice by the Visakhapatnam police on October 16, barring him from holding a public gathering. It was alleged that on October 15, he held a rally with 500 people where a group of supporters attacked the convoys of YSRCP party representatives. The latter were in the city to attend the Visakha Garjana rally organised by the YSRCP. A few JSP supporters and leaders were arrested after the event by the police based on the complaint of the YSRCP leaders. In response, Pawan Kalyan held a meeting at his party office in Mangalagiri and attacked the ruling party for calling him a ‘package star’. TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu condemned the arrest and the ban on the JSP chief from holding the meeting. He later met Pawan Kalyan at a Vijaywada hotel, raising speculations about a potential alliance.
Describing this early move of the ruling party as a ‘preventive measure’, political analyst Tekapalli Ravi explained, “The competition is among three parties - TDP, YSRCP and JSP. Before others woke up to the challenge, YSRCP started the buzz to prevent JSP chief Pawan Kalyan, whose public appearances had increased in frequency, from gaining ground among the people. The ruling party already has several representatives from the community. Pawan Kalyan is yet to build such a camp in the community, at least among the second cadre and followers. It is believed that his effect will be evident in the Godavari belt and YSRCP wants to prevent this. It is yet to materialise on ground. TDP is worried that Pawan Kalyan will attract the community with his charisma and is in a dilemma over what move it should make.”
Vasireddy Yesudas, a Kapu leader, has a different opinion. He said, “The community makes up more than 22% of the state’s population. Communities with more voters should be given more seats and greater preference. The ruling party has cheated the community by not fulfilling the promised corporation fund and by cancelling reservation. They have abused JSP leader Pawan Kalyan and his family. Why would Kapus vote for them? The people of the community have clarity now and have decided not to vote for the ruling party.”