2 major castes sore over denial of Cabinet berths

Srikakulam: The induction of Srikakulam MLA Dharmana Prasada Rao, Polinati Velama, into the Cabinet is likely to trigger strong dissidence in the ruling party in the district. Prasada Rao replaced his elder brother Dharmana Krishna Das as part of the reshuffle. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is said to have taken Prasada Rao into Cabinet in view of his vast experience in politics. In four decades, he worked with six CMs and faced eight elections and won five as an MLA.

But leaders from two other major communities in the region, Kalinga and Turpu Kapu, feel they are being neglected in the district. Kalinga voters dominate in number in Itchapuram, Palasa, Tekkali, Amudalavalasa Assembly constituencies. Assembly Speaker Tammineni Sitaram is representing Amudalavalasa while Duvvada Srinivasa, who lost in Tekkali, was accommodated as an MLC later. These two leaders expected Cabinet berths.

From Turpu Kapu community, Reddy Shanthi and Gorle Kiran Kumar were elected as MLAs from Pathapatnam and Etcherla Assembly constituencies. In these two seats, Turpu Kapu voters are in dominant position in terms of numbers. But these two MLAs have also being denied Cabinet berths. Silent protests and strong dissent are being witnessed from the leaders and voters of these two major communities as they feel being neglected by the Chief Minister.

They question how can the CM ignore the castes which are dominant in six of the total 8 Asembly constituencies in the district.

In the two remaining segments, Srikakulam and Narasannapeta too, Kalinga and Turpu Kapu voters have considerable strength.