In a move aimed at garnering and firming up the upper caste vote in his favour, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has issued a GO implementing the 10 percent Economically Weaker Sections reservation. Though the EWS reservations were enacted by the Centre in 2019, Jagan chose to implement them now.

Internal surveys and feedback from various sources, including the village secretaries, have reportedly revealed that there was pent up anger among the upper caste. Most of the government’s welfare schemes have been directed to benefit the SCs STs and the minorities. As a result, there is a sense of disenfranchisement among the people, especially the youth among the upper castes. Surveys have also shown that Jagan is pandering to some sections of the society only for votes. As a result, Jagan reportedly felt the need to do some course correction.

In fact, during Chandrababu Naidu regime, 5 per cent from the 10 per cent EWS reservations were allocated to the Kapu community. A resolution to this effect was passed by the TDP government and was forwarded to the Central government. However, the Central government rejected this proposal. As soon as Jagan came to power, he reversed the 5 per cent EWS quota to Kapus.

Interestingly, now he has even simplified the norms for the EWS quota. This move, Jagan hopes, will ensure that the youth and women from the upper castes would draw closer to the YSRCP. This would also stop the so called upper castes from getting closer to the YSRCP. The YSRCP is also planning to raise the issue of 5 per cent Kapu reservation and claim that the TDP has only cheated the Kapu community.