The newest state of India that will go to the polls on December 7 would be akin to a social laboratory, where political experiments that were never heard of or seen before are expected to take place. Most of them revolve around the Mahakutami or the grand alliance of four-five parties in Telangana that have nothing in common.
Such groupings are not new to this part of India; they were formed twice in undivided Andhra Pradesh under the leadership of the Congress in 2004 and the TDP in 2009, and the TRS was a major partner in both. Yet, the Mahakutami is totally a different experiment. For, never before have arch rivals TDP and Congress been on the same page. Remember, the TDP was floated by the late N T Rama Rao on an anti-Congress plank.
The Congress is determined to wrest power any which way in Telangana, a state it claims was formed due to Sonia Gandhi’s resolve. Citing history, it claims the road to power in Delhi would pass via Telangana. For example, after losing power at the national level for first time in 1977, it was the undivided Andhra that gave life to the Congress in the 1978 Assembly elections, which subsequently led to the revival of Congress rule at the Centre in 1980. Again in 2004 and 2009, it was Andhra Pradesh that gave the grand old party the numbers to be at the helm in Centre and form UPA-I and UPA-II governments. If the Mahakutami delivers in Telangana, it could tilt the scales in Delhi in 2019, the Congress reckons.
As for the TDP, which has now been confined to Andhra Pradesh, its leader Chandrababu Naidu moving closer to the Congress in Telangana is another experiment. Never before has a regional party been able to sustain itself beyond one half of a bifurcated state. For example, the RJD was decimated in Jharkhand after the bifurcation of Bihar. Not just that. Chandrababu Naidu as Andhra chief minister had opposed the construction of some of the major irrigation projects in Telangana during the last four-and-a-half years. Assuming the TDP would be part of a coalition government in Telangana after the Assembly polls if they capture power, would it be possible for Telangana TDP ministers to raise objections if Andhra continues to attack their projects?
Interestingly, the CPI, which plans to work with the TDP in Telangana within the Mahakutami, will fight against Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh, where it plans to go with the Janasena Party. Besides, Prof M Kodandaram, an activist who was highly critical of the Congress and the TDP during the Telangana agitation, has become a key partner in the Mahakutami.
Not just that, even famous balladeer Gadar, a proponent of Maoist ideology for a major part of his life, is now singing the ballot tune. He recently met Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi seeking support for his works. It will not be surprising if he is pitted against Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in Gajwel Assembly constituency as a common Opposition candidate. So, has he made up his mind to associate with the Congress, perhaps for the sake of his son who has already joined the party? Why else would he take his family to Delhi to meet the Gandhi family?
Even the TRS is a mirror image of the Mahakutami in a very real sense. It is a blend of all parties, as KCR has MLAs who were once with the Congress, the TDP, the YSR Congress, the BSP and even the CPI. He leads a party that consists of leaders and proponents of the pro- and anti-Telangana movement and even the pro-Andhra ones. Yet, typical of any regional party, KCR’s is the last word in the party.
The BJP is waging a lone battle, with no party willing to associate with it for various reasons. It is depending mostly on turncoats from other parties to get a few seats.
Of the 119 Assembly seats in Telangana, the TRS won 45 of 64 in North Telangana comprising Khammam, Warangal, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Adilabad and Medak districts. In south Telangana, however, it got only 18 out of 55 in Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts. This time, the Congress and the TDP, which are better placed in the southern parts, are trying to put up a strong show. With December 7 still some distance away, a few more experiments could be in the offing.
Ch V M Krishna Rao
Resident Editor, Telangana
Email: krishnarao@newindianexpress.com