At time when everybody appears to have forgotten Kapu strongman and former minister Mudragada Padmanabham as the electioneering has picked up the momentum, the Telugu Desam Party suddenly laid a trap for him.
On Friday, Naidu deputed a group of senior TDP leaders to Mudragada at his residence in Kirlampudi in East Godavari district and asked him to join the TDP.
They said Naidu is ready to offer him party ticket for the assembly elections from Pithapuram constituency. They also asked him to campaign for the TDP in the entire state.
Apparently, Mudragada has agreed to the TDP’s offer, but he put a condition that the party should promise posts for the other Kapu joint action committee (JAC) leaders as well. They said they would get back to him after discussing with the chief minister.
Earlier, they also had contacted the Kapu JAC leaders and tried to convince them to support the party.
The passage of Kapu quota bill, seeking to provide five per cent quota to them under EBC category, seems to have changed their mind.
Interestingly, soon after the TDP started making efforts to lure Mudragada, YSR Congress party also started making attempts to contact him. It remains to be seen which way the Kapu leader would tilt.
A few days ago, Mudragada told media that he did not want to make any comment against any single party at this juncture, as no political party has come out with any concrete assurance on the Kapu reservation issue.
