Who is Purandeshwari's target now?

 

Who is Purandeshwari's target now?

There is a growing curiosity and speculation among the political circles in Andhra Pradesh. Is Daggubati Purandeshwari targeting Jagan? Chandrababu? That is the question on everyone's minds.

In the parliamentary representative democratic politics, caste affiliations play a significant role. Caste influence in Andhra Pradesh's politics is quite pronounced. Many political leaders actively engage in garnering support from specific caste groups while simultaneously trying to appease others. However, no single community can be termed as the absolute loyalists of any particular political party. While a significant portion of any community is supporting one party, the small portion remain loyal to various other parties. It should be noted that political parties largely rely on a broad base of supporters rather than being solely dependent on a particular social group.In the Reddy community, a significant majority extends support to the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). However, a smaller fraction is provides backing to other opposition parties, including the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Similarly, in the Kamma community, a significant portion aligns with the prime opposition party, the TDP, while a smaller section extends support to various parties, including the YSRCP. These two major social groups, along with their respective parties, hold considerable influence in the political arena of the state.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strategically targeted the third major social group, the Kapus, to expand its vote base. As such, since the formation of the new state, the leadership position in the BJP has been held by the leaders from the Kapu community namely Kanna Lakshminarayana and Somu Veerraju.

In the recent cabinet reshuffle, Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy allocated more positions to the members from the Reddy and Kapu communities. The current Jagan cabinet does not have representation from the Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya communities, collectively referred to as 'upper Varnas'.  Additionally, there is no representation for the Kamma community, which is a major agrarian caste.
Aa the large part of Reddy's society is already with Jagan, he believes that he has to pull large section from the Kapu community to ensure successive victory in the coming elections.  

            Half of the Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishya communities are in favor of the BJP. However, the rest of the half continues in various parties.

Most of the Muslim, Christian, ST and SC social groups voted for YCP in the last elections. The main reason for this is that Jagan has a Christian minority perspective also.

Various castes of the Backward Categories (BCs), which constitute almost half of the total population of the state are lending equal support to the ruling and main opposition parties. Although there are still Congress, CPM, CPI and BSP parties in the state, they do not currently have a fixed vote bank.

These are the political and social equations till a year ago

Pawan Kalyan, the chief of Jana Sena party (JSP), who could not make much impact in the last election, is moving the crowd with persistence this time. His vote bank is certainly increasing more than before.

            Pawan Kalyan mainly appeals to the Kapu social class. Moreover, he is repeatedly saying that he is following the ‘road map’ designed by the BJP. He is repeatedly saying that Janasena, BJP and TDP will form into an alliance in the next elections so that the anti-Jagan vote bank will not split.

            From the moment Purandeshwari assumed her new post, she started firing sharp arrows aimed towards Chief Minister Jagan. She confirmed that the BJP will have an alliance with Pawan Kalyan of Jana Sena, but did not say that they would also include TDP Chandrababu. While avoiding the clear answer about Babu she said the matter of alliances is the propriety of  national leadership. 

Purandeswari didn't stop there, she went on a rampage saying that Chandrababu took the package instead of special category status for the AP state which was assured in the state re-organization Act. This is a statement that will certainly embarrass Chandrababu politically.

            During the media conference held on July 28, Purandeshwari criticized and accused Jagan's administration point by point. What is the aim of the BJP's game plan which is criticizing Jagan on one hand and Chandrababu on the other? Now an interesting discussion has started on the subject.

            BJP strategists feel that while Pawan Kalyan is working on mobilizing the Kapu community for them, they should focus on mobilizing the Kamma community. As part of this move, they fielded Purandeshwari from the Kamma community, excluding Somu Veeraju of the Kapu community.

            There are some other reasons for Purandeshwari's choice. The major reason is that she is the daughter of late NT Rama Rao, the founder of the TDP, hoping the sentiment will work. Another reason is that the relation between the families of Daggubati and Chandrababu have been severely strained in the recent times. 

            Even if there is a situation where they have to leave the TDP, the chances of the Kamma community joining the YCP are slim. Then they choose BJP. Four TDP Rajya Sabha members joined the BJP when the results of the last election came and TDP lost power. The BJP is expecting such developments to happen this time before the elections.

            Despite winning 22 out of 25   Lok Sabha Constituencies in the last election, and having 12 members in the Rajya Sabha Jagan has given up his independent political presence in national capital and is serving the BJP. He is voluntarily and fully supporting the BJP in both the houses of the Parliament. In return, he did not seek a single ministerial position in the central cabinet.

            During his recent visit to Visakhapatnam, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also leveled strong allegations against Jagan's regime. Now Purandeshwari is sharpening them.

It is strange that YCP is not able to give a firm retort even though BJP is making such accusations. It was reported in some newspapers that YCP senior leaders Botsa Satyanarayana said that despite some differences, they will stay with the BJP at the Centre. It seems that Jagan has directed his party's MPs to stay with the BJP in the current monsoon meetings as well.

`        There is no other party in the country that is lending such free service to BJP despite having so many MPs in hand.

            BJP is hoping that if they grab the Kapu vote bank with the support  of Pawan Kalyan and pull the ground from under Chandrababu's feet with Purandeshwari's tactics, they can win 10 to 15 Lok Sabha seats on their own in AP. Their target is 20 of the total 25 Lok Sabha seats.

            No matter how many seats Jagan wins in the next parliamentary elections, the BJP is not upset about them because they ultimately fall in their hands. They want to get rid of Chandrababu and loot the vote bank of TDP and become strong independently.

Danny

Senior Journalist and Social Analyst

Mobile : 9010757776

Written on :  28 July 2023