May 7, 2008

Telangana Bye elections – So much at stake

In Andhra Pradesh’s political history, there can never be a more critical election set up than the upcoming by elections in Telangana. Generally any election would be a referendum for two parties at maximum. However these elections are “do or die” situation for three different major parties for three totally different reasons.

Let’s have a look at parties’ past and present situations:

TRS – they are fighting for a noble cause. It is a known fact that Telangana has been suffering from the “foster child” treatment by all previous governments. This is a long time pending issue and every government has been avoiding it for some reason or other. The core problem is that this issue was never so big enough that any political party can originate and succeed up on it by its own. For the same reason TRS had to join hands with Congress party in the previous elections, they had no other alternative. But unfortunately, they took a big humiliating back stab from Congress party after wards. Understandably they are roaring like wounded tigers. For their MLA’s it is a three layered task ahead. They have to reiterate their loyalty to the party, patch up their damaged reputations, and balance their political careers. I think their jobs are one of the most unwanted jobs right now. Can TRS reflect and capture Telangana people’s true emotions? Will there be a political twist over it? We have to wait and see……..

TDP – they have a different ball game at their hands. Theirs is a very unique and very uncomfortable situation. They are stuck in a nut cracker. They cannot afford to swing either way. They never committed to Telangana but they cannot say it louder. They might have changed their minds meanwhile, but they cannot say it either. They might have a future plan for Telangana or may not, god knows. But they cannot say a damn thing about it right now because the situation became so sensitive and they missed the train 4 years ago. Their Telangana MLA’s are like volcanoes ready to erupt, but could not speak out because of party ethics or code of conduct. They too have a three layered challenge like TRS MLAs – They have to reiterate their loyalty to their party, reiterate their loyalty to janmabhoomi (Telangana) and balance their political careers. I swear they might be cursing themselves for entering politics. Will this uncertainity become a blessing in disguise for them? Do they have a more mature and holistic approach to this issue? Was it a wrong train to embark 4 years ago? Are they better off not involving in this issue at all? We have to wait and see…….

Congress – they are in a self dug hole right now. They took TRS help 4 years ago because they were desperate to get into power. They got benefited by the alliance and realized that they got more than what they dreamed off. Quite naturally, they ignored the Telangana issue. This is so typical among political parties and there is nothing extraordinary about it. They have underestimated the Telangana momentum and thought it would not matter to them in bigger picture. Luckily, the higher command in Delhi has been dancing to their tunes so far, so they are able to get away with it. Has congress estimated the momentum correctly? Are they correct in diluting the separate state issue? Are the people mature enough to understand the broken promises and use their rationale? Will this behavior of congress has any impact in Coastal and Rayalseema? We have to wait and see……

The magnanimity of this issue could be easily understood by the fact that a lot of other big issues like Chiranjeevi’s political party, real estate in Hyderabad, Coastal Andhra and Rayalseeema etc are in a state of “wait and see” for these results.

By all means, they are a true test for Telangana people’s persistence and resolution. This is literally an acid test for the success of democratic process which can shape up the future of our state and our lives.

With so many moving parameters and with so many probable permutations and combinations, for sure there will be a lot of dough for political watchers like me to discuss, argue and of course, write.

Tell Uppajihow you liked the article