1971: In LS debut, TPS wins 10 seats in Telangana region
The 1971 Lok Sabha elections saw most voters backing the Telangana Praja Samithi with the party winning 10 of the 14 seats in the Telangana region. The Congress was able to secure only three seats and the CPM won from Miryalaguda segment
Fuelled by the Telangana movement, some leaders of the Congress led by Marri Chenna Reddy defected and formed the Telangana Praja Samithi in 1969. Although the Congress invited Chenna Reddy for talks on Telangana and an electoral alliance, the TPS contested alone in the 1971 Lok Sabha elections and secured 10 of the 14 MP seats in the Telangana region
MIM-Cong alliance in Hyderabad
The Hyderabad seat was in the spotlight following predictions that considered it “the most spectacular election fight in Andhra Pradesh”. The main battle was between Dr GS Melkote, Finance Minister in the erstwhile Hyderabad state and a seasoned parliamentarian, and Badruddin Tyabji, India’s former ambassador to Japan. Tyabji, who contested as an independent, was “supported by the New Congress, the Majlis-e Ittehad-ul Musalmeen, the Muslim League and the Communist Party of India,” read an Express report dated February 27, 1971.
Meanwhile, Dr GS Melkote, who had previously won twice from the Hyderabad seat on a Congress ticket had switched to the TPS as he believed in the creation of a separate Telangana state. Despite the combined support from several parties, Tyabji lost to Melkote by nearly 21% votes
Despite defeat, Cong says people don’t back Telangana statehood
Although the TPS won 10 of the 14 seats in Telangana region, the margins were close in many areas, an Express report dated March 14, 1971 noted. The Andhra Pradesh Congress (New) Committee held that “a scrutiny of the pattern of actual voting in the Telangana region would unmistakably show that a majority of people have unequivocally expressed themselves against the fissiparous tendencies”
G Venkatswamy was elected to the Lower House for the second time. He won on a TPS ticket with an over 60% vote share from the Siddipet (SC) segment. He would go on to become Union minister and serve five more terms in the Lok Sabha. His sons G Vinod and G Vivek both are currently Congress MLAs and his grandson G Vamsi Krishna is the grand old party’s nominee from Peddapalli (SC) in the 2024 LS polls
Not swayed by demand for separate state
Following the split from Communist Party of India in 1964, the CPM won from Telangana for the first time in the 1971 Lok Sabha elections. An Express report dated March 4, 1971 predicted that the TPS may divide Congress voters. But it also noted, “The demands voiced by the TPS have not had much backing in the rural areas… because they are not relevant to the problems of the poor agriculturalist.” Subsequently, B Narasimha Reddy, the CPM candidate, won from Miryalaguda, albeit by a less than 1% vote margin
Inputs: Manda Ravinder Reddy
Research: Swethavimala M, Amrutha Kothapally