Telangana: No longer a one-sided election 

A fortnight into the election campaigning, things have heated up in Telangana. With the press – both Telugu and English – behaving in a servile fashion for the last two years, there was no easy way to estimate the likely election trends in the state.

It seemed that it would be a one-sided election with the KCR-led TRS romping all the way. Telangana will go to polls in November and now with opposition parties getting their act together, the electoral battle may not be one sided at all.

Congress’s Jaipal Reddy – the tallest Telangana political figure though now past his prime – opened the party’s election campaign by asking why the KCR government has been continually giving out huge contracts to Andhra companies. Telangana was created in response to the demand that a separate state be carved out of Andhra Pradesh because the composite state was run by ‘Andhra zamindars’. This had reduced the people of Telangana to the position that could be likened to ‘exploited peasants’, it was argued.

With the creation of Telangana, this state of affairs would be rectified was the expectation of the denizens. But this had not happened with ‘Andhra contractors’ still ruling the roost and landing up major contracts was the burden of Jaipal Reddy’s contention.

This is also the contention of M Kodandaram whose newly formed party is now part of the Mahakutumi, a grand alliance of opposition parties led by the Congress. During the time of the Telangana agitations, Kodandaram was part of the movement. But now disgusted by the ways of KCR, he has started his own party, Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS).

Although Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) had defected from the ranks of TDP-led Naidu and opposed him openly, KCR had learnt his political lessons from the latter. And Naidu’s key to success was the development of Hyderabad with investments from all over the world (buttressed by Andhra industrialists’ investments). KCR had faithfully followed this line in the last four and a half years that he has been in power.

His thinking: Telangana has little other resource other than the brand name of Hyderabad and the entire state can be developed only buttressing this. This would mean that Hyderabad should be free for investments from whoever, including ‘Andhra colonialists’.

This went against the premise on which the Telangana movement was built. But there had been no outcry because of three reasons. First, the locals have been ecstatic that their demand for their ‘own’ state had been granted and the inflow of Andhra denizens migrating to Hyderabad regime had been stemmed. Secondly, KCR had kicked off a range of programmes in the rural areas – which was akin to doles and involved transfer of resources. Thirdly the opposition parties - who could raise an outcry - had been cut to size. Lastly, the media was made to fall in line through patronage, handsome advertisements and the likes.

The mahakutumi unfortunately has Naidu’s TDP in it. This has given a fresh opportunity for KCR to lambast him and the alliance with TDP may well boomerang on the opposition. After the new state was created, Naidu receded to the new Andhra Pradesh. KCR will now raise the bogey of return of Andhra zamindars.

Meanwhile BJP is up to an interesting game; a tacit alliance with the TRS. This is because BJP has no solid base in Telangana. KCR has promised to Modi: make me the satrap here and I’ll support you at the Centre. But to make the right noises, Modi’s men led by Amit Shah is blasting KCR in Telangana. This will help KCR secure minority votes which is in danger if there is an open alliance between BJP and KCR’s TRS.