Vijayawada: Agree to it or not, caste and politics are inseparable in Andhra politics. Kammas seem to be the most sought-after faces for all political parties in the capital region spread in Krishna and Guntur districts. Be it the YSRC, the Jana Sena or the TD, all the main political parties are wooing this influential caste to bring it into their fold. Former AP Assembly Speaker, Nadendla Manohar’s induction into the Jana Sena by its chief Pawan Kalyan has only proven the theory once again.
Though their numbers are less than 5 per cent in AP, the wealthy Kammas wield a lot of influence in most of the constituencies in both the districts. While the TD has always been traditionally identified with Kammas, YSRC chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy too wanted Kamma faces from the two districts in his party.
During his padayatra in Krishna district, he inducted former MLA, Yalamanchali Ravi and former home minister, Vasantha Nageswara Rao’s son, Vasantha Krishna Prasad, both Kammas, into his party. Kodali Nani, Gudiwada MLA and a Kamma, is already active in YSRC politics in Krishna district. Now it is the turn of the Jana Sena. The party is working hard to disown the image that it is a Kapu party, as attributed to it by its distractors.
Currently, of the total 34 Assembly constituencies in Krishna and Guntur districts, more than 1/4th is represented by Kamma MLAs from various political parties like TD, YSRC and BJP. While the YSRC and BJP have one Kamma MLA each from Krishna district, the TD has 11 Kamma MLAs from both the districts. Interestingly, out of the 5 Lok Sabha segments in the capital region, 3 are represented by Kammas.
The number of MLAs from the community shows the importance all political parties give Kammas in the capital region.
Interestingly, of the 33 Kamma MLAs in AP, the majority are from these two districts. “No doubt, Kammas have been a predominant caste in AP politics ever since legendary actor N.T. Rama Rao joined politics and founded the TD. Especially, both in Guntur and Krishna districts, the upper caste Kammas play an important role in many constituencies by wielding their influence. Naturally every party would like to woo them,” a Professor in Political Science at Acharya Nagarjuna University, Dr Ravi Sekhar Mogili, told Deccan Chronicle.
