YSR Congress, the main Opposition party in Andhra Pradesh and the principal challenger of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), has announced the list of candidates for the 175 Assembly constituencies and 25 Lok Sabha seats.

The party has given 41 out of the 175 Assembly seats and seven out of the 25 Lok Sabha seats to candidates from backward castes (BCs), signalling its intent to woo the BC vote bank in the State, which has been the backbone of the TDP since its inception. In 2014, the first election in the bifurcated State, the BCs stood solidly behind the TDP. However, the TDP’s election promise to get the Kapus, a dominant caste in the State, included in the BC list and provide them reservations did not go down well with the BCs.

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s clarification that reservations would be provided to the Kapus without cutting into the BC quota does not seem to have convinced them. The government made efforts to get Kapus reservation by increasing as well as allocating 5 per cent of the 10 per cent increased reservation under economically weaker sections created by the NDA government too.

All these developments were not to the liking of the BCs and there is a distinct possibility that a substantial chunk of the BC voters may sail with the YSR Congress this time around.

The TDP, however, is hoping that the Kapus will vote for it in this election, en masse, as it has provided them reservations and that might offset whatever loss there might be in the BC vote. The ruling TDP has not yet announced the names of candidates for all the Assembly and LS seats yet. It has been hit by last minute desertions to the YSR Congress.

Jana Sena tie-ups

Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party, the so-called third force in the State, has tied up with Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Left parties. The move is aimed to cut into the Christian, minority and SC votes, which is with the YSR Congress. The Jana Sena has agreed to leave 21 Assembly seats to the BSP and seven apiece to the CPI and the CPM, and kept the rest of the 175 seats for itself. The Jana Sena will contest 18 LS seats, the BSP three and the CPI and the CPM two apiece, the total being 25.

The YSR Congress alleges that the Janasena-BSP-Left combine is “nothing but the B team of the ruling TDP party. It is intended only to cut into the opposition vote and minimise the anti-incumbency factor.”

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