Amid buzz over backwards, upper castes dominate Telangana party candidate lists

Politically powerful Reddys, who are 7% of population, make up a quarter or more of the names for BRS, Cong and BJP; Cong fields fewer Muslims, no Muslim in BJP list

The BRS has also preferred upper castes, with as many as 35 Reddy (29%) candidates getting the nod. (Photo: PTI)

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Though the campaign for the Telangana elections has also been revolving around Other Backward Classes (OBCs), three key parties in the fray — the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Congress and BJP — seem to have preferred a large number of upper caste candidates, mainly from the politically influential but numerically much smaller Reddy community. In case of the BRS and Congress, the share of upper caste candidates is higher than OBCs in their list.

The BJP, for instance, which has promised to install an OBC chief minister if it came to power, has fielded 30 Reddy candidates (27%) among a few other upper caste candidates. The party is contesting 111 of the 199 seats, leaving the rest for actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party.

The Congress, on the other hand, has been facing pressure from its OBC leaders, who are seeking more representation. Following the release of the party’s first list on October 15 which was dominated by Reddys, party leaders had demanded a total of 51 seats for OBCs.

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However, the party has still allotted tickets to 26 Reddy (25%) candidates among 11 other candidates from the upper castes. The grand old party is contesting 116 of the 199 seats, while three have been given to its Left allies.

The BRS, which has faced frequent attacks from the Opposition over its government’s neglect of OBCs, too has preferred upper castes, with as many as 35 Reddy (29%) candidates getting the nod. Moreover, the party has allotted tickets to 16 other candidates from the other upper castes, like Velama (KCR’s caste), Kamma and Brahmins. The KCR-led party is contesting all 199 seats.

With regard to OBCs, the BJP with 39 (35%) has allotted the highest number of tickets to candidates from the communities in the group. The ruling BRS has given tickets to 24 OBC (20%) candidates while the number stands at 20 (18%) for the Congress.

Telangana’s population, according to the 2014 household survey, comprises 52% OBCs while the Reddys make up around 7% of the population. Scheduled Castes (SCs) make up around 17% while the Scheduled Tribes (STs) are around 9%.

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Recently, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief Revanth Reddy accused the BRS of sidelining women and promised four ministerial berths to women if the Congress came to power. However, his party has fielded only 11 women candidates as opposed to the BJP, which has given tickets to 15 women. The BRS has fielded the least number (8) women candidates for the upcoming elections.

The Congress, which held the maximum support among the Muslims till the state was bifurcated in 2014, has fielded 4 Muslims, compared to 7 in 2018, while the BRS has fielded 2 candidates from the community, same as last time. However, the AIMIM, which is contesting 9 seats and has fielded one non-Muslim candidate, is seen as allied with the BRS.

The BJP has no Muslim candidates in the fray, the same as last time. Muslims make up 13% of Telangana’s population.

All three parties have fielded SC and ST candidates only from reserved seats. Telangana has 19 SC-reserved seats and 11 kept for STs.

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