It’s Kapu fight in Bhimavaram Assembly

Hyderabad: The Bhimavaram Assembly segment, a Kapu bastion after delimitation, is for the first time facing a triangular contest between candidates of the community with the entry of Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan.

The seat was a Kshatriya stronghold till 2004 but the picture changed with the exclusion of Palakoderu mandal, where the community is present in sizeable numbers.

The addition of the Veeravasaram mandal made the Kapus numerically stronger, they now have about 60,000 votes.

The TD, YSRC and the Jana Sena are looking to grab this vote bank and are offering sops to community influencers.

Sources said Mr Kalyan and his brother Naga Babu, contestant from the Narsapuram Lok Sabha constituency, were personally contacting influencers. On Friday, they contacted a community leader who had played a key role in the Praja Rajyam.

A YSRC leader said he had refused help because he was dumped after the Praja Rajyam merged with the Congress.

He has been with the YSRC, and cannot ditch the party.

YSRC leaders are grabbing community leaders from villages including Mogaltur, the native place of the Chiranjeevi brothers.

Mr Ande Bhujanga, a prominent figure of the community, from Mogaltur mandal has extended support to the YSRC. The Kapu leaders are asking for posts in the agriculture market committees and tickets for local body elections.

The TD is looking at the BC voters particularly the Settibalija community, the largest after the Kapus.