Kurnool LS Segment: Caste Equations Dominate Candidate Selection in Kurnool

Kurnool: All major political parties in Kurnool are leveraging caste-based strategies for the assembly and Lok Sabha polls, chanting the caste mantra to attract votes from the backward communities.

These elections will have candidates from these communities being prominently fielded by all parties, reflecting a distinctive political scenario.

The ruling party has selected city mayor BY Ramaiah from the Valmiki community, while the Telugu Desam has opted for B Nagaraju from the Kuruva community. Additionally, the Congress party has supported PG Ram Pullaiah Yadav, a candidate from the Yadava community.

The Kurnool parliament segment comprises seven assembly segments: Kurnool, Kodumur, Alur, Yemmiganur, Pathikonda, Adoni and Mantralayam, with around 20 lakh voters. The constituency has seen the participation of top leaders such as the ruler of the erstwhile Hyderabad state, Mir Osman Ali Khan, who contested the 1957 general elections from Kurnool representing the Congress party.

Prominent figures like Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy, KE Krishna Murthy, and Kotla Jayasurya Prakasa Reddy have also won elections in the past. Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy secured victory six times from the constituency between 1977 and 1998. His son Jayasurya Prakasa Reddy also won the polls in 1991, 2004, and 2009 from the Congress party.

K.E. Krishna Murthy won the polls in 1999 from the Telugu Desam Party. Since then, the constituency has witnessed varied representations, including Butta Renuka in 2014 and S Sanjiv Kumar in 2019, both from the YSRC.

The constituency's rich political legacy notwithstanding, analysts observe that both the ruling, and opposition parties have prioritized caste equations in candidate selection this time. B.Y. Ramaiah's candidacy, representing the Valmiki Boya community, holds strategic importance for the ruling party, given his community influence and service as Kurnool city mayor.

Similarly, Bastipati Nagaraju from the Kuruva community, chosen by the opposition, aims to capitalize on community support. He was elected as an MPTC member from Panchalingala in 2021 and is now vying for the MP candidacy.

Previously, he served as a lecturer in a junior college before resigning from the position and venturing into the real estate business. The Congress party's candidate, PG Ram Pullaiah Yadav, also hails from an influential Yadava community in the district.

“With all candidates belonging to backward communities, community members face a challenging decision in selecting their preferred candidate, reflecting a unique electoral scenario,” said K. Mallikarjuna Rao from the C-Camp area.