Master Of The Bypoll
Bypolls again. Telangana fever erupts.
Master Of The Bypoll
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The TRS MLAs, till then buoyant, saw no option but to resign as distressed youth went on a suicide spree and anger raged across the region. Of the 12 seats up for polls, TRS holds 10, BJP and TDP one each. Lest anyone is still hazy on the campaign line, it’s a single-point agenda, says the TRS—statehood and nothing less.
KCR’s son K.T. Rama Rao, seeking re-election from the Sircilla seat, shrugs off his wafer-thin 171-vote victory in the 2009 polls over rebel independent K.K. Mahender Reddy. Rama Rao faces the same opponent again, the latter now contesting on a Congress ticket. “All the 12 candidates who resigned will win with a huge majority because these elections will reinforce the opinion of the people. Individuals don’t matter in these elections. This time round, it’s not a contest between two individuals but between people of two regions. It is a fight between Telangana self-respect and Andhra arrogance,” asserts Rama Rao.
State irrigation minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah, the MLA from Jangaon (Warangal district), begs to differ. “We (the Congress) won 50 out of the 119 assembly seats in Telangana. The TRS, on the other hand, contested 46 seats and, despite an alliance with the TDP, won just 10.” Ponnala says it is a “misinformation propaganda” on part of the TRS that it alone cares about people’s sentiments.
The bypolls will take place in the backdrop of what is seen as an open revolt by late CM Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s son Jaganmohan. He’s chosen to ignore a Sonia Gandhi diktat and is taking out a three-day rally starting July 8. Jagan is staying clear of Telangana though.
So far, TDP president Chandrababu Naidu and chief minister K. Rosaiah have stayed away from the poll campaign. On Rosaiah’s absence, Ponnala is quick to retort, “Has the CM issued a statement saying he will not campaign? Then why the big fuss?” Student groups have been adamant about not allowing non-Telangana leaders to campaign in the bypolls.
TRS leader Vinod Kumar says they hope the result will be considered a referendum on Telangana, exerting pressure on the Srikrishna committee drawing the roadmap for a separate state. Telangana joint action committee convenor Professor Kodanda Ram says Telangana is already becoming a state within a state—people are seeking an independent leadership to represent their demands, aspirations and culture.
On the call to oppose campaigns by ‘outsiders’, Kodanda says it is a constitutional right to protest against such visits by using peaceful means. “We respect the rights of leaders and parties to campaign. At the same time, we also have the democratic right to question Naidu about his position on Telangana. Questions like what is his party’s position, what report will they submit to the Srikrishna committee are fully legal,” he says.
Meanwhile, KCR, whose whole being is defined by the Telangana statehood issue, is leaving no stone unturned to whip up sentiments with roadshows, public meetings and teleconferences.