Andhra Kapus to march along with KCR

PNS|Hyderabad

The politically significant Kapu community in Andhra Pradesh is now looking at Bharat Rashtra Samiti as their only alternative. Going by certain decisions taken by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, there is a clear strategy to ensure that the Kapu community embraces BRS.

With Pawan Kalyan and Chandrababu Naidu confirming their alliance, the Kapu community is looking at BRS, which is on a spree of encouraging its leaders. Thota Chandrashekar has been appointed as BRS president. Political analysts believe that this community-oriented activity will gain momentum after KCR starts touring Andhra Pradesh.

Jana Sena Party advisor and Kapu leader R. Rammohan Rao met on BRS chief and CM KCR at Pragati Bhavan. In a long meeting, Andhra Pradesh politics and other issues were discussed.

At Pragathi Bhavan, Tamil Nadu’s former CS Rammohan Rao, a well-known figure in the Kapu community, and BRS AP president Thota Chandrasekhar thanked party leaders for giving the post of CS to Santhi Kumari, who belongs to their (Kapu) community.

Simultaneously, BRS Andhra leaders met Santhi Kumari and thanked KCR for appointing her as CS. The decision to appoint Santhi Kumari (from Andhra Pradesh and belonging to the Munnur Kapu community) as the CS has bared BRS’ poll strategy.

KCR’s unexpected decision to pick Santhi Kumari from East Godavari district for the coveted post has surprised the ruling elite. Although there were many officials among front-runners in the race for TS CS post, it seems that Santhi Kumari’s community background tilted the scales in her favour.

As reported in these columns recently, the Velamas in Andhra Pradesh have already owned KCR as the Bahubali of their community. In their efforts to ensure that BRS gets national party status, they are bracing up to influence people in their areas to get the required vote share. Political observers say both Velamas and Koppula Velmas are batting for KCR as their man. This explains why even before BRS’ foray into AP, KCR was celebrated in certain constituencies where the Velamas have influence.

On the whole, it appears that KCR has launched political moves to attract powerful communities of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states, including Kapu-Munnur Kapus.

The official release by BRS of videos and photos of all of Kapu leaders’ meetings with KCR seems to be strategic. Political observers are analyzing that the videos of all the Kapus were released to give signals that the community is in support of KCR.

Sardar Putam Purushottam Patel, convener of the Telangana State Apex Council, Munnurukapu Sangam, in a statement, expressed his joy over appointment of Santhi Kumari as CS. He said that KCR was the compass for the future of India, recognizing the backward Kapu social class and encouraging it accordingly. Putam Purushottam Patel said that there was a historical need for the entire society to stand by KCR.