AP, telangana will see new forces
The Congress, which dominated the combined AP, will suffer a setback in the residuary AP.
The political landscape of Telangana and the residuary Andhra Pradesh is going to witness the emergence of new political forces. The ruling Congress, which dominated the combined AP till now, is set to become a zero in residuary AP. In Telangana, Congress may have to share space with Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and others. TRS hasn’t made up its mind on the Congress’ merger request till now and in all likelihood both parties may go for a seat-sharing arrangement. As per tentative proposals from TRS, it may allow 1012 MPs to Congress while retaining a majority seats in the Assembly. In such a case, Congress will have to put up with another of its ally, All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) which is keen on its Hyderabad MP seat.
“Undoubtedly, this time, people of Telangana will back Congress. But, Congress cannot be the absolute gainer in the next elections, as there are several other contenders who actively participated in the statehood agitation,” Telan- gana Praja Front convener M. Ved Kumar told The Sunday Guardian.
TRS chief K. Chandrasekar Rao (KCR) is not averse to the idea of a total merger. But a majority of second rung leaders are resisting this idea as they are not sure of being accommodated in the power position in the already overcrowded Congress.
Presently, TRS has around 22 MLAs and many more are joining it every day. They all want to contest the next elections. But in these seats, the Congress leaders are already celebrating victory rallies claiming credit for granting statehood to Telangana.
KCR is expected to take a call on his party’s ties with Congress at a meeting to be held in Hyderabad after 25 February. “To be fair, KCR should merge his party with us and help us win all the 16 MPs from the region,” senior Congress minister K. Jana Reddy told this newspaper.
The situation in Seemandhra, now residuary AP, is hopeless for the Congress. Here, the ruling party may draw a big zero, as the people are boiling over the manner the state was divided. This time, Seemandhra will witness political transformation by the emergence of the YSR Congress party led by Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy who is expected to win 12-17 MPs.
Various pre-poll surveys in the last few weeks indicted that Jagan will bag all the eight MPs in four Rayala Seema districts and four to nine out of the total 17 MPs in coastal Andhra. He is also likely to win a majority of 175 MLAs in Seemandhra.
Another political party with some prospects in Seemandhra is Telugu Desham Party (TDP). Though the party gave a letter in support of formation of Telangana in 2008, its leader Chandrababu Naidu’s persistent efforts to block Telangana bill in Parliament won it some base in the region.
Seemandhra region is sure to witness another new party to be floated by outgoing Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy. Like YSR Congress and TDP, Kiran too is going to attack Congress for its dictatorial attitude towards people of Seemandhra while dividing AP. As of now only four or five ministers and about a dozen MLAs have pledged their support to Kiran’s new party, but the number may grow.
As for BJP, protestors in Seemandhra have burnt its flags. But BJP may win some seats, thanks to its possible tie-up with TDP.