BJP's 'Madiga embrace' puts Congress in tight spot in Telangana

Hitherto, Madigas have supported either Congress or BRS in Telangana. But, since the last year assembly polls there has been a notable shift with Madiga support tilting in favour of BJP in the state.

Hyderabad: BJP's renewed push to 'embrace' Madigas, the largest group among scheduled castes in Telangana appears to have pushed Congress into a tight spot.

Of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana, three of them, namely, Peddapalli, Warangal and Nagarkurnool, have been reserved — one for SCs and two for STs.

While there has been demand from Madiga groups for fair representation in the allocation of tickets, Congress allotted all the three tickets to non-Madigas whereas BRS had given only one ticket to the Madiga community, while the remaining went to Malas.

There has always been a traditional rivalrly between Malas and Madigas that led to the latter to launch a fight for a distinct SC categorisation that could help them get a better quota, as their numbers are more than Malas. BJP has started strategically wooing this community. For the ensuing Lok Sabha polls, BJP has allocated two tickets to the Madiga group and one to Mala.

Hitherto, Madigas have supported either Congress or BRS in Telangana. Madigas along with more than 50 sub groups of SCs have been fighting for the separate categorisation, alleging that the majority of the benefits of the SC reservation quota is being enjoyed by the Malas, their rival sub caste.

Madigas led by Manda Krishna Madiga under Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS) have been agitating for SC categorisation since the 1990s. The KCR government too passed a unanimous resolution in the state assembly for SC categorisation at least twice in the last few years.

Last year, during the assembly polls, prime minister Narendra Modi not only announced a committee that would look into Madigas demand but also his visible bonhomie on the stage during a public meeting with Manda Krishna Madiga had caught the attention of Madigas in Telangana.

Krishna Madiga burst into tears as he shared the dias with Modi. The prime minister consoled him. Krishna Madiga since then has been touring the entire Telangana in support of BJP. But, since the last year assembly polls there has been a notable shift with Madiga support tilting in favour of BJP in the state.

The Madiga leader, Manda Krishna, has been demanding that since they form two thirds of the total SC population in Telangana, parties should allot two of the three tickets to Madigas.

As per the 2011 decadal census, Telangana's SC population stands at 54,32,680 with Madigas comprising 32,33,642, whereas Malas numbered at 15,27,143.

Also an integrated household survey conducted by the then Telangana government in 2014 put the state’s SC population at 63,60,158 which comes to around 18 per cent of the total population of the state.

“Numerically, Madigas constitute a significant population in Telangana. Manda Krishna Madiga and other Madiga leaders within the Congress are discontented with the ticket distribution process. Notably, there is a lack of Madiga representation in the Revanth Reddy cabinet, which could influence voting patterns. Similarly, Madigas feel neglected by BRS in KCR's cabinet. Consequently, Madigas might view the BJP as a viable alternative, given Modi's assurance regarding the subcategorization process and given them two MP tickets to the community,” political analyst and Center for Politics and Policy Studies (CPPS) president, Gowd Kiran Kumar, who has been tracking the politics of both the Telugu states, told DH.

Congress picked Mala candidates for the two reserved constituencies and another sub caste candidate for the remaining segment. Congress fielded Mala leaders Dr Mallu Ravi in Nagarkurnool and G Vamsi Krishna in Peddapalli, and nominated Kadiyam Kavya, belonging to Byndla, an SC sub caste, as its candidate in Warangal.

BRS fielded Malas RS Praveen Kumar and Koppula Eshwar from Nagarkurnool and Peddapally, respectively. The saving grace for BRS was that it announced M Sudhir Kumar, a Madiga, as candidate to fight Warangal.

BJP on its part had fielded two Madiga leaders — Aroori Ramesh in Warangal and P Bharat, son of sitting MP P Ramulu, in Nagarkurnool.