It has been said that “too many cooks spoil the broth” and that seems to be literally true with regards to the handling of the vexatious Telanaga issue by a few senior Congress party leaders.
In 2009 February, it was the disastrous statement of AICC Media Chairman Veerappa Moily on Telangana issue that led to statewide indignation and outrage and all Andhra leaders descended on Delhi to demand his head. Moily was removed from the post and tempers cool down a bit then.
This time around, it is the controversial statement by the AICC Spokesperson PC Chako that “ Telangana issue was not on the national agenda of the Congress and in the common minimum programme of the UPA” that forced former APCC President and Permanent inciting to CWC, Mr Kesava Rao and two Congress MPs, Gaddam Vivekanand and Manda Jgannatham to quit the party and deciding to join Telangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS) on June 2.
This has come at a rather inopportune time which is likely to deal a big blow to the party’s prospects in one of its strongholds and chipping away at its strength at the Centre. Many political pundits say that this move will further deplete the ranks of the minority Congress in the Lok Sabha and once again put the statehood issue, which it has trying to sweep under the carpet, on the centre stage.
The Telangana cauldron has been simmering since far too long and it was the inability or dithering of the Congress leadership which allowed the situation to come to such a pass because of its one step forward and two steps backward approach.
Supporters of Telangana State have been repeatedly reminding the Congress party of the then Home minister P Chidambaram’s statement in December 2009, promising the formation of a new state only and to go back on that within a few days. The issue was later pushed before a committee headed by Justice BN Srikrishna which surprised everyone by presenting six options instead of one or two.
Justice Krishna panel’s recommendations were bizarre as they included the “creation of a Telangana Regional Council within Andhra, bifurcation of the state into Telangana with Hyderabad as the capital and Seemandhra with a new capital; bifurcation of the state into Seemandhra and Telangana after making Hyderabad a Union Territory; bifurcation of the state into Seemandhra and Telangana with enlarged Hyderabad metropolis as a Union Territory; bifurcation of the state into Rayala Telangana and Coastal Andhra; and maintenance of status quo.”
Kesava Rao along with others had set a deadline of May 30 for the Congress High command to take a positive decision on the formation of Telangana State. Gadadam Vivekananda has represented Peddapalli while Manda Jagannatham is the MP from Nagarkurnool. Incindetally, the decision came on the same day when AP Chief Minister K Kiran Kumar Reddy had come to Delhi to appraise the High command on the prevailing situation in the State and seek permission to reshuffle his Cabinet.
The Congress party , on the other hand, has termed this ‘ switchover ’ as a part of the electoral politics on Telangana which may barely cause a ripple on the surface of the electoral politics in a few pockets of Telangana region but will add nothing new to the movement for separate statehood. Even a few academicians and social scientists feel that the politics of opportunism have overshadowed the principles of the Telangana Statehood movement.
A closer look at the credentials of these leaders who have decided to quit Congress in the name of Telangana could clearly reveal that the Telangana cause was just a rouse to camouflage “personal aspirations”. For example, Manda Jagannath had left the TDP to join the Congress in 2009. He was reported to be miffed with the Congress leadership when he was not given a ministerial berth. Sources in the TRS said while he has been assured a ticket for next year’s Lok Sabha elections, Jagannath has also sought a ticket for his son.
Yet another Congress MP, S. Rajaiah, is yet to take the plunge as he was not assured of re-nomination from Warangal, where the TRS is planning to field another ‘switchover’ from TD, Kadiam Srihari.
There are reports of some party MPs from Telangana going to joing the TRS to shore up their prospects in next year’s elections by trying to cash in on Telangana sympathy. They would also like to seek TRS tickets for their sons and daughters, and KCR has apparently assured that those who join his party will be re-nominated and their relatives will also be given tickets to contest Assembly elections
The Congress party faces twin problems at this stage. In 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the party had won 33 out of the total of 40 seats mainly on the basis of YSR reddy wave. The party had won 12 out of the total of 17 seats in Telangana region. Both TDP and TRS had got only 2 seats each. During last 3 years, at least 6 elected Congress Mps from the region have raised their voices for the Telangana State, much to the embarrassment of Congress High command.
Now, the TRS would intensify the “Telangana bogey “vociferously and wean away as many sitting Congress MPs and MLAS and mar the Congress’ electoral prospects in Andhra Pradesh to a considerable extent. Under these circumstances, it is doubtful that the Congress would be in a position to win even 6 out of the total of 17 seats from this region.
The Congress party already faces anti-incumbency and a strong threat from the YSR Congress, a party founded by Jagan Mohan Reddy, would further complicate its chances. Jagan Reddy’s influence in the region has not diminished the way Congress party would have liked it.
Chief Minister Kiran kumar Reddy has not been able to keep the flock together even otherwise and many senior party leaders are miffed at his style of functioning. Added to the chagrin is the break-up of Congress alliance with AIMIM.
The Congress party has to also worry about sitting MPs including Ponnam Prabhakar, GS Reddy, Madhu Goud Yakshi and a few others who may find it extremely difficult to go against the wishes of their voters.
The Congress High command needs to send a team of senior Congress leaders (who have been familiar with the politics of Telangana) to assess the ground reality and announce the schedule for Statehood at least after 2014 LS polls to assuage the ruffled feelings of the people of the region. That would be the only saving grace and a smart move to douse the stoking fire.
(Posted on May 31, 2013 @ 9.00pm)
(Ajay Jha is a Commentator and Independent Writer and Analyst on Politics, security and Economy of South And West Asia. His email id is: Ajay N Jha <ajayjha30@gmail.com>)
