Kammas and Reddys, two socially and politically powerful castes in Andhra Pradesh, have got the lion’s share in the first list of 99 candidates announced by TDP-Jana Sena combine on Saturday for forthcoming Assembly elections.
Among all castes, Kammas, to which TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu belongs, has received the highest number of tickets (22).
The alliance also fielded 17 candidates from Reddy community. Both the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Jana Sena have tried to strike a balance and ensure representation to all the key groups. Nineteen of the candidates are from Backward Classes (BCs) while 20 are from Scheduled Castes (SCs).
Kapus, a community Jana Sena leader and actor Pawan Kalyan comes from, has been allotted 10 tickets.
There are four candidates from Kshatriyas, three from Scheduled Tribes (STs), two from Vysyas and one each from Velama and Muslims.
The TDP-Jana Sena combine announced candidates for 99 of the total of 175 Assembly seats in the state.
Under the seat sharing pact, TDP has left 24 Assembly seats for Jana Sena.
Of 151 Assembly seats which TDP will contest, Chandrababu Naidu declared candidates for 94 seats.
Pawan Kalyan announced five candidates of his party. Of 99 candidates of the TDP-Jana Sena combine, 13 are women.
A total of 24 candidates are below the age of 45 years.
Another 55 are in the age group of 46-60 and 20 candidates are in the age group of 61-70.
The list also includes 28 candidates with postgraduate degrees, 50 candidates with graduate degrees, 3 doctors, 2 PhD, and one retired IAS Officer.
In the TDP list, there are 23 first-timers.
Former IAS officer B. Ramanjaneyulu will contest on TDP ticket from Prathipadu (SC) in Guntur district.
The TDP claimed that the announcement of 99 nominees marks a significant shift in Andhra Pradesh’s political landscape, embodying an unprecedented infusion of fresh faces, youth candidates, representation from the BC community, and women candidates.
While TDP’s list includes Chandrababu Naidu, Jana Sena leader Pawan Kalyan does not figure in the first list of five candidates of that party.
Chandrababu Naidu will seek re-election from Kuppam constituency.
His son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh will contest again from Mangalagiri, where he failed to get elected in 2019.
Naidu’s brother-in-law and popular actor N. Balakrishna will seek re-election from Hindupur constituency.
TDP’s Andhra Pradesh unit president K. Atchan Naidu will also seek re-election from Tekkali.
Other key TDP leaders who figure in the first list include C. Ayannapatrudu (Narsipatnam), N. Chinnarajappa (Peddapuram), Kollu Ravindra (Machilipatnam), Gadde Rammohan Rao (Vijayawada East), D. Narendra (Ponnur), Nakka Anand Babu (Vemur), P. Pullarao (Chilkaluripet), Kanna Lakshminarayana (Sattenapalle), P. Narayana (Nellore City), Bhuma Akhila Priya Reddy (Allagadda) and N. Md. Farooq (Nandyal).