AP chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had taken social engineering to another level in the last three years. When he appointed five deputy chief ministers when he first formed his cabinet in 2019, it was a surprise to many. His cabinet was seen differently, from the point of social engineering.

Now, in the second cabinet, besides giving lion’s share in the cabinet to the weaker sections, Jagan dropped the dominating castes from the cabinet. He kept the Brahmins, Vysyas, Kshatriyas and Kammas out of his cabinet. These castes have no representation, though there are MLAs in the YSR Congress party.

While the Kammas are with the opposition TDP, the other castes are divided between the TDP and the YSR Congress. By keeping them out of the cabinet, one wonders what and how they would think of Jagan Mohan Reddy politically. Jagan believed that the SCs, STs, BCs and Minorities would own his party and vote for him in 2024 elections en masse.

These backward sections owning up the YSR Congress in the elections would require a lot of campaigning by the party leadership. They should initiate discussions at the ground level and spread it to make people think in favour of the party.

However, if they fail in it, the heartburn that the Kammas and these dominant castes have in them would engulf the party. The Kammas have been vocal in opposing the YSR Congress and Jagan Mohan Reddy. A section of the vernacular media is also working in their favour against Jagan. If the other dominant castes also join the campaign, it would be tough for Jagan to retain the power in the next election.

People have become wise enough unlike in the past. They speak whatever the leaders speak, but they have their own calculations. It is to be seen if social engineering would come as a blessing for Jagan or a curse!