Sai Krishna death fuels Kapu churn, gives YSRCP opening

THe tutelary dying of 25-year-old Gade Sai Krishna in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada has provided the oppositeness YSR united states congress company (YSRCP) an opportunity to tap into growing discontent among sections of the Kapu community, who are already upset over Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan’s perceived indifference to their concerns.Following the custodial death of the Kapu youth, the YSRCP has, over the past few days, aggressively sought to project that the Jana Sena Party, which came to power with alliance partners — the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — on the strength of Kapu support, is no longer adequately representing the community’s interests.A politically influential community in Andhra Pradesh, Kapus and their affiliated caste groups such as Balijas, Telagas and Ontaris constitute 15.2% of the state’s population, according to official figures.While Kapus are spread across the state, the East and West Godavari districts are considered their strongholds. Traditionally, Kapus have been seen as rivals of the Kamma community, another dominant caste group that accounts for 4.8% of the state’s population.In 2008, Kapus attempted to consolidate themselves as a political vote bank when prominent Telugu film actor Chiranjeevi floated the Praja Rajyam Party. However, the party failed to make a significant impact in the 2009 Assembly elections in the undivided Andhra Pradesh, winning only 18 of the 294 Assembly seats with a vote share of 17.5%. Chiranjeevi merged the party with the Congress in February 2011.In 2014, Chiranjeevi’s younger brother Pawan Kalyan launched the Jana Sena Party but did not contest the elections held after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. Instead, he backed the BJP-TDP alliance.In the 2019 elections, Jana Sena contested in alliance with the Left parties and the Bahujan Samaj Party but failed to make an impact, winning only one Assembly seat with a vote share of 5.54%.In 2024, Pawan Kalyan joined hands with the BJP and TDP, and the Jana Sena Party registered a resounding victory by winning all 21 Assembly seats and both Lok Sabha seats it contested.“This is because Kapus embraced Pawan Kalyan as their own messiah and voted for Jana Sena Party much beyond his expectation, playing a vital role in the coalition’s victory, though they were not totally happy with the seat-sharing pact with the TDP. They were hoping that Pawan Kalyan would protect their interests and rise to the level of chief minister one day or the other,” political analyst Ramu Survajjula said.However, over the past two years, Pawan Kalyan has failed to live up to the community’s expectations, according to several Kapu leaders. Instead, they say, he has increasingly relied on Kamma leaders such as Nadendla Manohar, Ram Talluri and Lingamaneni Ramesh.His recent decision to nominate Lingamaneni Ramesh to the Rajya Sabha has angered several Kapu leaders, who have begun criticising him openly.“Pawan Kalyan has failed to do enough for the community after assuming office. He is not accessible to the Kapu leaders. He is playing second fiddle to chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu,” alleged Kapu Sangham leader Dasari Ramu.Pawan Kalyan, however, hit back at his critics from Kapu organisations, saying he could not be reduced to the leader of a single caste.“Can anyone dare say Jagan Mohan Reddy must protect the Reddy community and Chandrababu Naidu Kamma community? Why am I being projected as a Kapu leader?” he asked at a party meeting a few weeks ago.Stressing that his politics is based on public welfare rather than caste mobilisation, Pawan said he was attempting to break traditional caste barriers instead of reinforcing them.“I am fed up with these Kapu leaders. Let them choose a Kapu leader of their choice and declare him as the chief ministerial candidate,” he challenged.Sai Krishna’s custodial death has further added a caste dimension to the political debate, with YSRCP leaders accusing Pawan Kalyan of remaining silent despite the victim belonging to the Kapu community.“How can anyone attribute caste to a history sheeter and accuse me of failing to protect the community interests?” Pawan Kalyan asked.The YSRCP has moved quickly to position itself as the political voice of aggrieved Kapu leaders. On June 22, the party convened a meeting of Kapu leaders in Kakinada to discuss its political strategy. Former ministers Kurasala Kannababu, Dadisetti Raja and Botsa Satyanarayana, former MLA Thota Trimurthulu, former MP Vanga Geetha and several other senior Kapu leaders attended the meeting.They alleged that Pawan Kalyan had become a pawn in the hands of chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu to divert public attention from sensitive issues, including Sai Krishna’s custodial death.“Why is Pawan Kalyan silent on unfulfilled promises made to Kapus, including Kapu reservations, Kapu Nestham and annual allocations to the Kapu Corporation?” Kannababu asked.Although Pawan Kalyan has consistently maintained that he represents all communities, much of Jana Sena’s organisational network and electoral influence remains concentrated in Kapu-dominated regions, particularly the Godavari districts.The YSRCP appears to believe that even limited dissatisfaction among Kapu opinion-makers could gradually weaken Jana Sena’s political dominance within the community.Jana Sena leaders, however, dismissed the allegations as politically motivated.“During the previous YSRCP government, the 5% EWS reservation for Kapus was withdrawn. The Kapu Corporation remained largely inactive, scholarships were delayed, Kapu Kalyana Mandapams were neglected, and overseas education assistance failed to reach deserving students,” minister Kandula Durgesh said.Survajjula said many Kapus were frustrated because they found it difficult to get their work done despite Jana Sena being part of the ruling coalition.“They believe TDP leaders continue to dominate the administration while sidelining Jana Sena leaders,” he said.He said Pawan Kalyan was alienating members of his own community in a bid to project himself as a leader of all communities.“This shows his political immaturity. It would be better if he avoids talking about caste altogether while quietly retaining the support of Kapus as his core political base,” Survajjula said.