It is now an open secret. Though it is predominantly a Kamma favoring party, the Telugu Desam Party has always come to power only when it gets the unstinted support of the numerically strong Kapu community.
The party may have lost 2004 polls due to anti-incumbency factor but in 2009 it just lost by 1.8 percent votes as Kapu votes migrated to Chiranjeevi’s PRP. But again by 2014, they were back solidly behind TDP.
And for the first time ever they secured more cabinet berths in Kamma-dominated TDP as a recognition of the fact that they were instrumental in winning all 18 seats in West Godavari and 17 out of 19 seats in East Godavari district.
Apart from deputy CM N China Rajappa, leaders such as Ganta Srinivasa Rao (Visakhapatnam), K Mrinalini (Vizianagaram), P Narayana (Nellore), and BJP's Manikyala Rao are the Kapu ministers in TDP chief and Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu's cabinet.
