For a new comer, Naidu‘s decision to admit Anam brothers into Telugu Desam party, might look like a surprise. He has admitted Anam bothers- Anam Vivekananda Reddy and Ram Narayan Reddy, into yellow brigade not because they are a big force in Nellore district. Naidu knows pretty well that they are no longer a force in the district, which is now in the grip of new generation leaders. The venom the Anam brother spewed on Naidu during 2014 elections and when they were in power is also too fresh for Naidu to be forgotten.
In 2014, none from their family got elected. While Ramanarayan Reddy lost Atmakur to Mekapati Gowtham Reddy, in Nellore city, Anam Chenchu Subba Reddy bit the dust as Congress candidate. Still Naidu took them under his wings, dismissing the objections raised by the Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy etc, TDP’s tallest leader from the district.
The reason, according to sources in TDP, is that Naidu is worried about the politics in the state getting ‘polarized into Kamma versus Reddy’. That It is true is a different matter. The state politics is governed by these two castes. Can anybody deny that Naidu’s shifting of capital to hard core Kamma region between Guntur and Vijayawada is not compelled by the caste politics of the state? Naidu, a Kamma, feels more at home on the banks of river Krishna rather than amid barren lands of Reddy’s Rayalaseema. To prevent the capital from being held hostage by handful of powerful Reddys, Naidu identified a secure place. Incidentally the area is in the close proximity to Buddhist Amaravathi, a symbol of castelessness.
Naidu, however, wants to prove that TDP is not a Kamma party by admitting as many prominent Reddys as possible in the next few days. At a time when ‘son’ is rising in Nara family, party should need to be illumined like a rainbow of castes, outwardly at least. There are some important Reddys who lost elections in 2014 and are readily available for poaching in Nellore and Prakasam districts. And also, Naidu wants to give more visibility to those Reddy’s who are in TDP for quite some time by appointing them to important posts. As part of this a few hour before admitting Anam brothers into party, Naidu appointed Prof Jayarami Reddy chairman of Andhra Pradesh State Finance Corporation and M Linga Reddy Chairman of Andhra Pradesh Civil Supplies Corporation. He is aware that Reddys out of power are more troublesome than in power. So, let’s keep them engaged by admitting them into party and by offering them visible positions either in party or in government. Anams want power and Naidu wants Anams.
