It is a known fact that YSR Congress has attracted many leaders from the Reddy community into the party-fold. However, YSR Congress Party President Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy has been careful enough to declare in public meetings and other platforms that equal importance will be given to BCs and people from other castes, in order to balance the caste equations.
Even at the BC Garjana that the YSR Congress Party held, Jagan had promised 50% reservations to BCs, SC, STs and others. However, the party’s candidates list from Rayalaseema is out and it clearly points out a pattern where leaders from the Reddy community again dominate the list, with hardly one or two seats given to others.
In Chittoor, of the 14 seats that YSRCP is contesting from and has declared candidates, 9 candidates belong to the Reddy community. Similarly, among the candidates chosen for Kurnool, of the total 14 seats that the party is contesting from, 10 of them are from the Reddy community. Meanwhile, in Nellore, of the 9 seats it is contesting from, 8 of them belong to the Reddy community.
Going by the list of candidates chosen, several leaders within the party and in political circles are wondering about YSRCP’s promise of social justice to all communities. Social media is rife with discussions on how YSR Congress Party clearly indicates “Reddy community domination” within the party. On the other hand, this could turn out to be a negative point for the party which wants to win the 2019 Assembly elections in the state.
