Amaravati: Unlike Telangana, where caste is not a major factor in elections, Andhra Pradesh has always seen caste playing a key role.
The ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has been demanding a nationwide caste-based economic census, while the main Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is also backing the demand for a caste census with an eye on next year’s Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
With the actor-politician Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party (JSP), which is a constituent of the NDA, supporting the idea of a caste census, the BJP is completely isolated on the issue. Though both, the YSRCP and the TDP are not part of the Congress-led INDIA, their stand on the caste census is in consonance with the Opposition bloc.
Political analysts say the reasons for the stand taken by the ruling and the main Opposition party may be entirely different.
