In Andhra Pradesh, three factors have shaped the contours of contemporary politics: the Capitalist economy, dynastic politics and the question of the state capital. These factors influenced the dominant castes’ role in politics and the formation of political parties. Broadly, there are three phases in the political process of Andhra Pradesh: One, the consolidation of the Telugu identity from the early 20th century, resulting in separation from the Madras state in 1953; two, the phase of dominant caste politics from the 1950s right until the bifurcation of the composite state into Telangana and residual AP in 2014; three, the rise of dynastic politics from 2014. In the last phase, political power in the state has been in the hands of three families.

The growing phenomenon of dynastic politics needs to be explained in the historical context of the political economy. The building of irrigation infrastructure from the late 19th century onwards by the colonial rulers in coastal Andhra, like the Dhavaleswaram project across the Godavari, and the Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam dams across the Krishna after Independence, turned drought-prone areas into rice bowls. Subsequently, the Green Revolution contributed immensely towards the rise of rich capitalist farmers from dominant castes........

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