Kakinada: In Kakinada Urban constituency, voters belonging to the Kapu caste outnumbers others, but a legislator from the community has been elected from the seat only once in history. That was when freedom fighter Mallipudi Pallam Raju was elected from the constituency in the 50s.
Since then no Kapu leader was elected from the Kakinada Urban constituency. Kapu leaders worked for the victory of other social groups, both in the Congress and Telugu Desam. Some Kapu leaders contested as independents but could not win.
According to sources, Kapus are the biggest vote bank and the fishermen community is next in the Kakinada Urban Assembly segment.
Mallipudi Pallam Raju was the father of the late former Union minister M.S. Sanjeeva Raju and grandfather of former Union minister M.M.Pallam Raju. He was a close associate of Jawaharlal Nehru. After Mallipudi Pallam Raju, C.V.K.Rao (belonging to the BC community), Dantu Bha-skara Rao (Brahmin), Malladi Swamy and Vanamadi Venkateswara Rao (members of the fishermen community), Mootha Gopalakrishna (Vysya) were elected MLAs for the constituency.
Sources said that political parties do not give Assembly tickets to Kapu candidates due to political and caste equations in other constituencies in the district.
Maharshi Sambamurthy Social Studies Organization founder Tatavarti Srinivasa Rao said the caste factor was not given much importance in the past and only the worth of the candidates, their service, sincerity and calibre was taken into account in allotting tickets, People also supported such candidates. He said that it was unfortunate that the caste factor was increasing in society even in general issues and in the political field. “Highly educated people also suffer from the factor,’’ Mr Srinivasa Rao said.
