The Kamma leaders in the Congress party who have been seething with anger ever since the party high command began giving too much importance to the Kapu leaders like Chiranjeevi and Botsa Satyanarayana, have now found an occasion to take a dig at them.

Guntur MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao was the first one to react after the Congress party’s rout in the latest by-elections. He met Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday and gave his version on the party’s debacle. Speaking to media later, Rayapati said megastar Chiranjeevi had made little impact on the voters in the by-elections.

“Despite merging his Praja Rajyam Party with the Congress and campaigning in the by-elections, Chiranjeevi could not consolidate the vote bank of Kapu community. The Kapu voters did not vote for the Congress but went after YSR Congress party. Even the SCs, who had been the backbone of the Congress all these years, had voted for Jagan party, thanks to the money power and sympathy factor,” Rayapati said.