On AP, Telangana poll pitch, regional pride rages over nationalism

In sharp contrast to the northern states where muscular nationalism, security and Hindutva are the dominant campaign themes, the electioneering in the two Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is largely focused on regional pride, local governance and development issues.

In fact, a game of competitive regionalism is on in the two states with the ruling parties — Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in Telangana and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh — accusing each other of working against the interests of the other state. They have also traded charges of theft of voters’ data.

The bitterness of bifurcation is refusing to subside as the major contenders for power continue to invoke regional identity and brand their opponents as being inimical to the regional interests. If the Special Category Status (SCS) demand is the key issue in Andhra Pradesh, securing justice for India’s youngest state through formidable presence in the Parliament is the main campaign theme of the TRS in Telangana where the poll battle has virtually become a one-sided affair.

The twin planks of welfarism and regional aspiration are dominating the campaign narrative in both the states, going to polls in the first phase on April 11. In AP, elections to the Assembly are also being held along with the Lok Sabha.

‘Saar, Car, Delhi Sarkar’

Playing the regionalism card to the hilt, the TRS, headed by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, has been advocating coming together of like-minded regional parties to change the ‘development narrative’ in Delhi and end the domination of the two national parties. During the election rallies, its leaders have been telling people to ensure victory for the party candidates in 16 of the 17 Lok Sabha seats so that a ‘strong voice of Telangana’ can be presented in the Parliament. The TRS is supporting its friendly party All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in Hyderabad where its president Asaduddin Owaisi is seeking a fourth term.

‘Saar (KCR), Car (TRS symbol), Delhi Sarkar’ is the new campaign slogan of the ruling party as it hopes to play a key role in the government formation at the Centre and shaping its agenda. “We will be in a position to decide who will be the next Prime Minister,” says the party’s working president and chief minister’s son KT Rama Rao.

The party has also made it clear that it would renew efforts to bring together the regional parties as an alternative to the Congress and the BJP in the post-poll scenario. It is hopeful that the likes of Mamata Banerjee, Naveen Patnaik and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy would eventually come on board. The idea behind the Federal Front is to foster true federal spirit by strengthening the voice of the regional parties in the Parliament.

Regional aspirations must have a say

The TRS’ calculation is that the coming elections would throw up a ‘1996-type fractured mandate’ and the Federal Front of regional parties would be able to play a decisive role in the government formation. “The regional aspirations will find greater resonance in such a coalition arrangement at the Centre,” says KTR.

“It is time to realize that development of States will lead to nation’s development. Though the Constitution has said that India will be a Union of States, what has emerged so far is a ‘Unitary State’ instead of a true Union of States,” he says.

The Federal Front would be able to correct the ‘historical imbalances’ in the developmental model and would put the country on a high growth trajectory, it is argued. “The successive governments of Congress and BJP have failed to meet the aspirations of the people and solve the pressing problems facing the country. With a common strategy and a set of well-defined programmes, the Federal Front has a potential to transform the country’s infrastructure, irrigation, agriculture and industries sectors,” Chandrasekhar Rao had said while unveiling his idea in March last year.

In neighbouring Andhra, the TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu also has a similar ambition of playing a key role in national politics post-elections and has been part of efforts to forge an anti-BJP formation.

However, his election campaign remains focused on regional issues, pitching ‘development versus anarchy’ narrative and positioning himself as the sole protector of the state’s interests as against the corruption tainted image of his bete noire Jagan Reddy.

‘A vote for Jagan is a vote for KCR,’ Naidu warns the gatherings at his election rallies, insinuating that the YSRCP has colluded with the TRS and was working against the interests of the state. His party has also been accusing the BJP-YSRCP-TRS combine of ‘hatching a conspiracy’ to defame the TDP government.

Even National Conference leader Farooq Abdulla who was roped in by the TDP for electioneering in Kurnool district, focused his attack on Jagan Mohan Reddy, accusing the YSRCP leader of trying to offer Rs1,500 to the Congress high command in return for making him the Chief Minister of the combined AP soon after the death of his father YS Rajasekhar Reddy in a helicopter crash in September 2009.

Show of strength

Naidu is roping in a battery of non-BJP leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Deve Gowda and Tejashwi Yadav to campaign for his party. The TDP’s campaign is focused on portraying Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the ‘villain’ of Andhra for ‘betrayal’ on the poll promise of conferring special status to the state and helping build a world-class greenfield capital city at Amaravati.

Several promises made in the AP State Reorganisation Act 2014 remain unfulfilled. Naidu is facing toughest electoral battle in his four-decade political career. The challenges are broadly on two counts. First, he needs to convince the people about his ideological U-turn to sail with the Congress, a party he has been fighting against for decades. Second, he needs to come up with a cohesive explanation on why it took him four long years to exit the NDA over the Special Category Status issue though it was clear from the beginning that the Centre would not concede the demand.

Embracing populism with gusto

Shedding his reformist baggage, Naidu has embraced populism with gusto and is seeking re-election on the strength of a string of sops and freebies unveiled by his government recently. From enhancing social security pensions, financial assistance to farmers to offering unemployment allowance and financial aid and smartphones for all members of women self-help groups, the sops virtually meant all things to all people. This comes at a time when the State’s Rs2.26 lakh crore budget for 2019-20 has a revenue deficit of Rs2,099 crore and a fiscal deficit of Rs32,390 crore over muscular nationalism. It’s regional pride all the way in Telugu states.