Chandrababu Naidu’s unconditional support to the Modi government clearly shows that the TDP has divorced itself from its founding principle of federalism. Next in our Delimitation Debate series
There has been no murmur whatsoever in Andhra Pradesh either on the Centre's attempt to impose Hindi or on the negative impact delimitation will have on the representation of South Indian states in the Lok Sabha.
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For Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s NDA government, these are not issues. The opposition YSR Congress chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy cannot afford to annoy Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he is preoccupied with existential problems following the loss of power in the state.
TDP sings a different tune
So, Nara Lokesh, the state IT Minister and son of Chandrababu Naidu, audaciously sought to reduce Tamil Nadu’s Hindi "imposition" and delimitation concerns as an election-eve uproar.
He told at India Today conclave in New Delhi last week that he would prefer negotiations to confrontation with the Central government. He went on to say that the North-South divide was non-existent.
It is another matter that Lokesh's remarks are at variance with the language Chandrababu Naidu employed against the Union government between 2018 and 2019 when the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) severed ties with the NDA.
Also read: Why Kerala is on the same page as Tamil Nadu on delimitation
Political survival more important
A humiliating defeat in the 2019 elections, coupled with Modi emerging stronger at the Centre, followed by harassment by then chief minister Jagan Reddy made Naidu realise that political survival is more important than federal pretensions.
Lokesh's statement is in stark contrast to the federal spirit of his grandfather NT Ramarao (NTR), the founder of TDP and the first non-Congress chief minister of Andhra Pradesh who took the lead to form a coalition of opposition parties demanding more powers to the states.
Fiery NTR days
Forty years ago, in February 1983, addressing a 19-party Opposition conclave in Bangalore, NTR famously said the Centre was a conceptual myth. “Where is the Centre without the states?” he questioned.
Unsettled by NTR's mobilization, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi responded within days by announcing the formation of the Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State relations.
NTR always advocated stronger states, and not without reason. NTR was miffed by the states' too much dependency on the Centre for funds for schemes, projects, and in times of natural calamities like droughts and floods.
Also read: Delimitation meet will signal Stalin's show of strength, explore alternative solutions
Pawan Kalyan follows suit
Although many attributed his federal rhetoric to his prime ministerial ambition, NTR was considered as the pioneer of federal fronts in India.
Now, Naidu’s unconditional support to the NDA government in New Delhi clearly shows that the TDP has divorced itself from its founding principle of federalism.
Similarly, Jana Sena chief and deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan long gave up his South India-discrimination plank in favour of Sanatana Dharma of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Andhra versus Telangana
Curiously, Andhra Pradesh doesn’t have the culture of public intellectuals as in Telangana where the political sphere is vibrant with vocal former professors, retired judges, ex-bureaucrats and scientists, who act as pressure groups in opposing policy decisions ranging from lake encroachment to education quality in primary schools.
In Andhra Pradesh, the only voice frequently heard is that of 80-year-old former IAS officer EAS Sarma who retired as secretary in the Union government.
In fact, he was the first person to alert the chief ministers of South Indian states about the growing anti-federal attitude of the Modi-led NDA government at the Centre. For the past 10 years, he has been calling on South Indian chief ministers to collectively oppose the trend.
Also read: How does delimitation matter to you? Why does it need to be debated?
A warning note
As recently as 2024, Sarma wrote to Naidu, after his swearing-in as chief minister, on the need to oppose the Centre’s moves to control the Finance Commission and devolution of funds that leave the states to survive at New Delhi’s mercy. He urged Naidu to follow in the footsteps of NT Ramarao before it is too late.
“I happened to participate as a civil servant in the meetings of chief ministers of Opposition-led states convened by NT Ramarao in 1983. NTR vehemently used to urge the Centre to revoke all the decisions meant to weaken the states. The present NDA government is more aggressive in its anti-federal moves than that of Indira Gandhi’s. This warrants a movement like the one initiated by NT Ramarao,” Sarma, a 1965 batch IAS officer, told The Federal.
Skewed Lok Sabha
“If the delimitation of constituencies is done based on the estimated population in 2026 (1.42 billion), the Lok Sabha seats in Telangana will go up from 17 to 20 and Andhra Pradesh from 25 to 28. In contrast, the number of seats in Uttar Pradesh will go up from 80 to 128 and Bihar will see a similar jump from 40 to 70. The stark South-North imbalance will have serious consequences, politically as well as financially,” Sarma said.
It may be noted that experts are offering different estimates on the number of seats that may be added or dropped in each state.
Also read: Telugu states never disliked Hindi; it’s partly politics, the rest is history
Danger to federalism
Talking about the pitiable condition of Andhra politics, former agriculture minister Vadde Shobhandriswara Rao said federalism was shrinking dangerously in India and is bound to jeopardize South India’s interests if the trend was not opposed.
“NTR stood for strong states and federal polity. Unfortunately, all major political parties in Andhra have become pawns in the hands of NDA, which is usurping the rights of states. Farm Acts, Electricity Acts and NEP, all are anti-federal in nature. There is a need to mobilize people against the Centre’s attitude,” Rao told The Federal.
The present ratio of seats for various states in the Lok Sabha should not be disturbed at any cost, he added.
Alliance with BJP
According to Vallampalli Laxmana Reddy of Jana Chaitanya Vedika, a civic organization based in Vijayawada, mobilizing people against the Centre’s usurpation of states’ rights looks impossible in Andhra as the three major parties have either open or hidden alliance with the BJP.
“While TDP, Jana Sena, and YSR Congress vie with each other to please Prime Minister Modi, the voice of Left parties is feeble. A movement to preserve the federal polity of India cannot be organized in Andhra,” Reddy told The Federal.