It’s Reddys vs Velamas in Karimnagar
Karimnagar: The political landscape of Karimnagar Parliamentary constituency is historically dominated by caste dynamics with 8 of the 12 winners belonging to the Velama caste so far.
Notably, the Congress party has given the MP ticket to a Velamala many times. In 2009, Ponnam Prabhakar, who won the Congress ticket for the first time as BC, achieved victory and showed his strength. Three leaders from this parliamentary constituency are among those who have achieved a hat-trick, while two have served as Union Ministers.
Meanwhile, M Satyanarayana Rao, Juvwadi Chokka Rao and former Chief Minister KCR won three times in a row. Former Maharashtra Governor Chenna Maneni Vidyasagar Rao and KCR also served as Union Ministers during Vajpayee’s tenure and in Manmohan Singh’s cabinet.
Since 1952, Karimnagar parliamentary constituency has been formed as a general seat. In that year, Baddam Ellareddy Reddy who contested from PDF (People’s Democratic Front) and R Krishna who contested from ACCF (Scheduled Castes Federation) won as the first MP of Karimnagar. R Krishna was reelected in 1957. In 1962, J Ramapati Rao won as MP.
In addition, leaders like Marri Chenna Reddy were also defeated by the voters of Karimnagar. In 1984 Marri Chenna Reddy, who formed NDF and contested with Telugu Desam support, was defeated by Congress candidate Juvvadi Chokkarao.
Remarkably, from 1957 to 1991, Congress candidates won nine times in a row. Only once in 2009 did a Congress candidate win again. After Chokka Rao’s defeat in the 1996 elections, the Congress’s winning streak broke.
Meanwhile, Boinapally Vinod Kumar won the election after the declaration of Telangana State by the largest majority in the history of Karimnagar Parliament in the 2014 elections. KCR got a majority of 2.1 lakh while Vinod Kumar surpassed that record by owning a majority of 2.45 lakh votes.
In the elections held in 2019, Bandi Sanjay won over Vinod Kumar and defeated the Velama stronghold. So far three MPs are BC, one is Reddy and the rest belong to Velama social group.
Notably, this time the process of selecting the main candidates who will win in the Parliament elections is going on along with the social class aspect. Meanwhile, the CM has taken a keen interest in the constituency as a key seat. Bandi Sanjay from BJP and Boinapally Vinod Kumar from BRS are in contest so far. Rajender Rao and Praveen Reddy, who are hoping for a Congress ticket from Karimnagar, have the ability to face Bandi. There is excitement among Reddy and Velama communities’ social circles about who will win the seat.