YSR Congress leader Jaganmohna Reddy’s meeting with ‘Darshakaratna’ Dasari Narayana Rao has provided enough grist to the political analysts, those who are interested in the caste politics in Andhra Pradesh.
In Andhra Pradesh, politics are watched, studied, analyzed and practiced on caste lines. A party which is defeated in elections attempts to recover from electoral shock by discovering disillusioned social groups like BC, SC and Kapus. As the BC and SCs are not monolithic, Kapus have become most attractive community for political re-mobilizations. All political formations in Andhra Pradesh, barring the Left, are busy in wooing Kapus, a politically conscious, but failed force, to come to power. This is exactly what the BJP and YSR Congress are doing now. While the ruling TDP is trying to scuttle these attempts by promising an unimplementable BC status to Kapus, the opposition YSRC is working to turn their disenchantment with TDP into its favor. There is suspicion among TDP circles that the Opposition party is fomenting trouble by inciting Mudragada Padmanabham to raise the voice against delay in according BC status. YSRC sees, having failed in creating a movement against TDP with Special status, Bauxite, liquor prohibition etc, Kapus’ inability to come to power under the leadership of Chiranjeevi, as highly inflammable cause. So, the party is attempting divert the Kapus ‘inability’ to transform themselves into a political force on a par with Reddy, Kammas and Velamas, as ire against TDP. At a time, when Kapus are planning a Garjana against TDP in East Godavari district, Jagan called on Dasari Narayana Rao, driving down to his residence.
Jagan’s decision to meet Dasari itself shows the desperation of Kadapa Reddy in regrouping social groups against TDP of Chandrababu Naidu. Except in 2004 elections, Dasari had never taken an active role in politics, barring enjoying the status of Kapu elder. Congress also had never not drafted him to poll work. Chiranjeevi totally ignored him. He was not an active Kapu leader with a following, the politicians normally command in their area of operation. The question is what would Dasari bring to the table. At best Dasari would impart some outdated filmy visibility to the party, which is a bunch of first generation politicians with enormous lung power. As for the Darshakartna, this attempt would help him revive his long defunct Udayam newspaper as YSRC is bound to help it gain the ‘opposition edge’ which is needed for a new paper and some anti-establishment readership.
Dasari and Mudragada joining YSRC would prove an important point that Kapus in Andhra Pradesh are not politically mature to emerge as an independent political force on the lines of Vanniyars of Tamil Nadu and Ezhavas of Kerala and carve out their own territory. By joining a political party they may realize their political ambitions for the time being by reducing the community into a subordinate group of either YSRCP or TDP or BJP. It might be triumph of individuals but pave the path for the defeat of community.
