Telangana Power Play! Thummala’s Caste rant
Hyderabad: In a rare public admission that lays bare the enduring grip of caste on Indian politics, Telangana Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao has confessed his career’s roots in the Kamma community fetched all that he as well as the community desired and deserved except for one- which he may probably be hiting at the chief ministership in Telangana.
His unfiltered embrace of caste politics has ignited fresh controversy, as he publicly hailed his Kamma heritage as the bedrock of his success while admitting that his caste is just a “divine blessing” dictating fate. In dual addresses this year, Rao has positioned the community as a political “lifeline,” urging unity amid accusations that such rhetoric glorifies divisions harmful to societal harmony.
At a recent gathering of the Kamma Mahajana Sabha in Khammam—his home turf and a Kamma stronghold—Rao declared, “I take pride in being born to the Kamma community, though your caste is not your choice. ” The event, attended by local leaders, highlighted his indebtedness to caste networks.
He spotlighted fellow Kamma leader Tata Madhu, who joined the BRS alongside him seven years ago, now serving as BRS president for Khammam district.
“The BRS party made him an MLC just by weighing in on his Kamma caste,” Rao noted, crediting such bloc solidarity for elevating community figures. On a different occasion, speaking at the Kamma Associations Federation event in Hyderabad on August 2, Rao doubled down: “I entered politics with the blessings of NT Rama Rao,” invoking the legendary Kamma icon and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister whose legacy fuels regional clout.
The minister, a five-time MLA who defected from BRS to Congress in 2023, praised the community’s “honesty and fearlessness,” adding, “The Kamma caste is working selflessly following the path shown by him.” This candor underscores India’s entrenched caste calculus, where Kammas—dominant in coastal Andhra and pivotal in Telangana’s Khammam district —deliver swing votes that parties put all resource at stake.
Rao called for “political unity” among Kammas to protect societal interests, thundering, “No one has the right to undermine the Kammas” against exploitative alliances that court votes then abandon them. Analysts view it as debt repayment: Kamma ties clinched his 2014 TDP victory in Khammam and eased his 2023 Congress entry, earning a cabinet post under CM A. Revanth Reddy.
Yet, critics decry it as perpetuating fragmentation, stifling merit, breeding nepotism, and deepening divides—glorifying caste notions not in society’s interest, with marginalized groups suffering most. As surveys from UP and Bihar reveal 70% of voters prioritizing community over ideology, Rao’s words serve as a national mirror: Caste’s shadow looms large over democracy, where defiance risks electoral oblivion. For Kammas- it’s empowerment and for India, an unresolved rift.
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