With Assembly elections around the corner in Telangana, the issue of regionalism has sprung up again. Despite the intensity of sentiments dying down since the bifurcation of united Andhra Pradesh, it is clear that some political parties are trying to create a narrative around it.
The party that refuses to fall into the trap this time is the Congress. Realising that the regionalism fervour could only dent its chances, the Telangana Congress is in no mood to entertain leaders from Andhra Pradesh who want to play an active role in the politics of the neighbouring State.
This was evident in the way Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president A. Revanth Reddy refused to answer a question from the media on recognising the leaders of Andhra origin as people of Telangana. “Will you all accept them as leaders?” he shot back at journalists who asked him what he thought of former MP and senior Congress leader K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao’s comments. During the launch of a book on Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Mr. Ramachandra Rao, an aide of the former Chief Minister, said that he could be considered a “half Telanganaite” since he has been living in the Telangana region for the last 40 years. In the presence of senior Congress leaders such as Mr. Revanth Reddy and former PCC chiefs N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Mr. Ramachandra Rao said that “he blends with the soil here.”
A former Rajya Sabha member, Mr. Ramachandra Rao was once the most powerful Congressman in the erstwhile combined Andhra Pradesh. Rajasekhara Reddy once referred to him as his “soul”. During the term of the Congress government from 2004 until the death of Rajashekhar Reddy, no political or administrative decision could be taken without Mr. RamachandraRao’s nod. In fact, the people of Telangana considered him one of the biggest obstacles to the movement for statehood, given his clout in the party.
In this context, it is clear that the Telangana Congress does not want to repeat its “mistake” of 2018 and miss out on the Telangana sentiment yet again. Mr. Revanth Reddy’s refusal to accept Mr. Ramachandra Rao’s statement is an indication of the Congress’s mood. The party still believes that its debacle in the 2018 Assembly elections was partially due to the alliance between the Telangana Congress and N. Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party. Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao made it a poll issue by accusing the Congress of trying to establish Mr. Naidu’s presence in the State through the back door. The Congress won just 19 seats; it was evident that the Naidu factor impacted its chances in many constituencies.
The Telangana Congress does not want Andhra-origin leaders of the party to play an active role in Telangana this time, either by contesting the election or by campaigning for it, lest the Chief Minister uses the opportunity to rake up regionalist sentiments yet again. In fact, Mr. Revanth Reddy himself said that Telangana was not ready to accept the leadership of Andhra-origin people.
The entry of YSR Telangana Party leader Y.S. Sharmila into the Congress has been delayed precisely for this reason, say party sources. Ms. Sharmila is the daughter of Rajasekhara Reddy and the sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy. A section of senior leaders wants her to join the Telangana Congress as she can tap the Christian votes as well as the votes of the settlers in the Rayalaseema region in Hyderabad — two groups which continue to respect Rajasekhara Reddy. Ms. Sharmila calls herself a Hyderabadi; she was born and brought up in the city. Moreover, her husband hails from Telangana. However, her active role in Andhra Pradesh politics from 2014 onwards seems to have become a huge impediment to her political dreams in Telangana.
The Congress’s fears are not exaggerated. Municipal Administration Minister K.T. Rama Rao has already accused the party of importing leaders from Andhra Pradesh. Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao also tried to equate the BJP with the Congress by accusing it of thrusting former Chief Minister, N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who joined the BJP recently, on Telangana. Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy is a resident of Hyderabad though he hails from Chittoor district. He opposed the division of united Andhra Pradesh and was unpopular among Telangana supporters. He later launched the Jai Samaikyandhra Party and lost badly in the 2014 elections in Andhra Pradesh.
