VIJAYAWADA: Caste in politics has always played a dominant role in distribution of election tickets. It now seems caste will discharge a vital function in the formation of the new capital of Andhra Pradesh , or Seemandhra as it is being referred to.

Top caste leaders from the dominant Reddys and Kammas are active behind-the-scenes trying to strike deals with the Centre on the location of the new capital, three days after the UPA alliance agreed on the formation of a new Telangana state, a highly placed political source told TOI on Friday.

The battle-lines are drawn with Reddy and Kamma politicians – across party lines – trying to outwit each other on the financially lucrative issue of building a new capital.

More than 60 out of 175 MLAs from Seemandhra belong to the Reddy community, whose loathing for the Kammas, who have 24 MLAs from Seemandhra, is well known. The Reddy leaders have thus made it clear they would never agree on a capital anywhere around Vijayawada or Guntur, the much-talked about location for the new Andhra capital, as these are Kamma strongholds.

Vijayawada and Guntur are centrally located with reasonable infrastructure for a capital, but leaders from Reddy-dominant districts want either Tirupati or Kurnool from Rayalaseema or even Ongole from Prakasam as the new capital.

“The central coastal districts of Krishna and Guntur are Kamma districts. The Congress does not want to make Reddys’ arch-rivals, the Kammas, prosper,” said a top Reddy leader not wanting to be named. The Reddys say that areas surrounding the new capital city will flourish making land owners billionaires.

A day after the bifurcation was announced, owners of commercial spaces in Vijayawada began quoting Rs 50 per sq feet as against Rs 15 per sq feet a week ago.

“The Reddys will never agree on a capital between Guntur and Eluru,” said D Subramanian, a senior Social Sciences professor at Acharaya Nagarjuna University .

Sensing trouble, the AP Chamber of Commerce and other merchant bodies, represented by Kammas in Krishna district, have begun lobbying for Vijayawada as capital.

“Vijayawada is certainly more suitable than any other place in Seemandhra,” said Malineni Rajaiah, a senior member of the body. Even TDP MLAs from the region are quitting, not just to keep the state united, but to make their demands for the capital in Vijayawada heard, some sources said.

The AP Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Muttavarapu Muralikrishna said they were going to present a comprehensive report to the state and Central governments, detailing the advantages of locating the capital between Vijayawada and Guntur.

He said they would also organize road shows to educate people about the benefits of having capital city close to their location. “Vijayawada-Guntur is strategically ideal,” he said. According to business leaders of the region, Vijayawada is well connected by air, road, rail and port, important infrastructure for a capital.

