As Andhra?s parties prepare for a meeting with Union home minister P Chidambaram, a look at where they stand.
The ruling party passed a resolution authorising Congress president Sonia Gandhi to take a decision on Telangana. However, there are too many fissures in the party in the state. As soon as the Centre made an announcement on Telangana, the Congress was the first which broke into two camps?pro-Telangana and united Andhra. The pro-Telangana camp?comprising 52 MLAs?is being lead by the 13 ministers who hail from the region. On the other hand, Vijayawada Congress MP Lagadapati Rajagopal is leading the united Andhra campaign. Chief minister K Rosaiah has no say in the matter since he faces resignations from both camps as soon as he tries to placate one of them.
MP from Nalgonda (Telangana) Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy says the Congress must unite and support a separate Telangana. Lagadapati says that first all the parties and people concerned should be consulted before taking any decision. At the root of the united Andhra campaign is the interests of a large number of people from coastal Andhra who have made Hyderabad their home, entrepreneurs who have invested heavily in real estate development, film industry and health care.
There is a stalemate in the party: pro-Telangana MLAs, ministers and MPs say they want Telangana or they will resign while pro-united Andhra camp threatens to do the same if the Centre goes ahead.
At the January 5 meeting, both pro-Telangana and united Andhra representatives of the party are expected to be present to argue the pros and cons.
Telugu Desam Party
The TDP is caught up in its own web on Telangana. To woo voters ahead of the May 2009 elections, the party?s president N Chandrababu Naidu made a U-turn on his united Andhra stand and decided to support the movement for a separate Telangana. He even tied up with Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) to which he assured support for separate statehood. However, once the Centre announced that it would initiate the process of creating a separate state, Naidu simply made a U-turn again. ?We support Telangana but the decision should be taken after a consensus is reached among all the political parties and people of various regions concerned,?? Naidu said. This lead to a revolt within the party with many pro-Telangana MLAs submitting resignations and accusing the TDP president of reneging on his promise. The May 2009 elections proved that the party has a large support base in Telangana where it won 39 seats. The party has also won over 40 seats in coastal Andhra. This has put it in a catch-22 situation; unable to support Telangana for fear of losing support in Andhra and vice versa. Though divided on the issue, at least the TDP has made it clear that if there is consensus, then it has no opposition.
Praja Rajyam Party
Actor-turned politician Chiranjeevi learnt to his dismay how taking sides can not only affect his political career but also his popularity as a megastar of Telugu cinema. Like Chandrababu Naidu, Chiranjeevi too developed cold feet after the Centre?s announcement, and when 16 of his 18 MLAs resigned in protest against creation of separate Telangana, he had no choice but to declare that he favoured a consensus before taking any decision. He was obviously not only concerned but also under pressure from the film industry which employs thousands of people from the coastal region. Chiranjeevi himself hails from coast and most of the top stars are from coastal Andhra. To save his popularity and appeal among his own people, Chiranjeevi changed track but that left Telangana fuming. Enraged fans, who otherwise worship him as a demi-god, prevented the release of his son Ramcharan?s film in Telangana. Film shoots were attacked or disrupted in Hyderabad by pro-Telangana elements. Chiranjeevi will argue for a united Telangana at the January 5 meeting.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti
With only 10 MLAs and 2 MPs including TRS president K Chandrasekhara Rao, what the party lacks in political strength is rhetoric and violent agitations involving students and goons. On the face of it, persons arrested in connection with violent protests and damaging public and private property are not related to TRS nor are they students of Osmania University, the nerve centre of pro-Telangana agitation. Instead, the police found historysheeters and criminals. ?There is no question of a consensus on Telangana. No one is asking the Congress, TDP or PRP whether Telangana should be given as a separate state to us or not. We just want it. The Centre?s announcement on December 9 is the first step towards creating a separate state. If things don?t progress from here in our favour, we will step up the agitation and it may become even more violent,?? says TRS president K Chandrasekhara Rao. The TRS continues to keep the issue alive by calling shutdowns and agitations. An all-party joint action committee on Telangana headed by pro-Telangana leaders itself is divided with Telangana leaders of TDP and Congress walking out of it saying TRS members were arm-twisting them.
MIM
High-profile MP Asaduddin Owaisi says the party will wait and watch the developments before taking any stand on Telangana. MIM?s influence is confined to Hyderabad city only.
CPI & CPM
The Left parties have a taken a safe stand. The CPI says it is in favour of a separate Telangana but only after consultations with parties and people concerned. Even before there could be any debate among its leaders, the CPI made its stand clear. CPI?s general secretary A B Bardhan himself stated that ?we support Telangana as a separate state. But the process should be taken up after forging a consensus through wider consultation with the people of the state and various political parties in the undivided state.?? However, when there were indications that Telangana has been put on the backburner, all four CPI MLAs of Telangana resigned. CPI floor leader in the Assembly G Mallesh said though party says there should be consensus, Telangana leaders were clear that they want Telangana irrespective of whether a consensus is arrived at or not.
Advocating that smaller states make for better governance, the BJP has come out in support of a separate Telangana state, and the TRS. ABVP activists joined scores of Osmania University students in their pro-Telangana agitations. BJP state president B Dattareya says the party has always supported creation of smaller states. ?Telangana sentiment and the movement is close to our heart. We whole heartedly support the creation of a separate Telangana. We will argue for initiating the process as soon as possible at the meeting New Delhi on January 6,?? he said.