Hyderabad: For Telugu political events, all roads appear to be resulting in Telangana’s Khammam area forward of the 2023 meeting elections within the state.
For example, Telugu Desam Get together (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu held a public assembly in Khammam final week, ostensibly within the hope of reviving the outfit in Telangana. Then, earlier this month, Y.S. Sharmila — who’s the sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and the founding father of the newly minted YSR Telangana Get together — laid the inspiration stone for her political occasion’s workplace in Khammam. She additionally introduced that she would contest the election from Khammam district’s Palair meeting constituency.
Declaring herself because the “daughter of Palair”, she identified how her late father, former Andhra CM YS Rajashekhara Reddy (YSR), had labored for the event of the area and constructed 20,000 homes and repaired the reservoir right here.
Khammam is of equal significance to different events too. The ruling Okay. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR)-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS; earlier known as Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS) is engaged on a ‘Mission Khammam,’ in keeping with senior occasion leaders. The Congress, which is struggling to remain afloat in Telangana, has additionally taken Khammam, as soon as its stronghold, fairly severely.
Political analyst Nageshwar Rao phrases Khammam area as a “microcosm” for regional political events, all of that are hopeful about their prospects and “have set their eyes on it”.
So, what’s particular about Khammam? Located on the Andhra-Telangana border, Khammam shares many cultural and social commonalities with the neighbouring state. A big share of its inhabitants additionally belongs to the Kamma group, which is socially and politically influential in present Andhra Pradesh.
Khammam, notably, was one of many 10 districts that the Telangana authorities bifurcated in 2016, resulting in a few of its elements being absorbed into different districts. Equally, some areas have been merged into Khammam from different districts. Nevertheless, it has not misplaced its political significance.
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‘If sky is Andhra, land is Telangana’
On 2 June 2014, the brand new state of Telangana formally got here into being, carved out of Andhra Pradesh. This adopted a decades-old motion for separate statehood because of grievances in regards to the allocation of assets and improvement from the state authorities, amongst different issues.
YSR, who died in 2009, was by no means in favour of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. Naidu too had maintained a impartial stand on the time of the agitation and served as CM of Andhra Pradesh from 2014-2019. So, how are events just like the YSR Telangana Get together and TDP anticipating any assist in Telangana’s Khammam?
Political consultants level out how Khammam shouldn’t be fairly like different Telangana districts.
“Given the Andhra affect on Khammam area, it was by no means in robust assist of the separate state motion or the erstwhile TRS, in comparison with different districts in Telangana,” Nageshwar Rao has stated. Consequently, even assist for Chief Minister KCR, who performed a significant function within the agitation for a separate Telangana state, at his BRS/TRS is at greatest lukewarm right here.
“When the TRS gained 63 (of 119 seats) in 2014, KCR realised that there have been some gaps and he stuffed these gaps by getting leaders from different events similar to Tummala Nageswara Rao from the TDP. He did related administration in different areas too,” Nageshwara Rao added.
Considerably, after the bifurcation, the YSRCP, led by Sharmila’s brother and YSR’s son Y.S, Jagan Mohan Reddy, gained three Meeting seats in Khammam and one Lok Sabha seat within the 2014 elections.
“There was a saying within the Khammam area earlier than the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh — in Khammam, if the sky is Andhra, then the land is Telangana. This means how a lot of a combined bag Khammam is in contrast to different districts within the state. There may be loads of Andhra’s social and cultural affect and traits within the area,” senior political analyst Telakapalli Ravi informed ThePrint.
As talked about earlier, the area additionally has a major ‘Kamma’ group inhabitants and Chandrababu Naidu hails from this group, explaining why he could have chosen Khammam as the specified location to host a public assembly forward of polls.
Former Congress & Left stronghold
Earlier than the TDP got here into the image in Khammam in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, the combat within the area was primarily between the Congress and the Left events.
That equation, nevertheless, has modified.
Within the 2018 elections, the Congress contested in alliance with Naidu’s Telugu Desam Get together (TDP), CPI and Telangana Jana Samithi. Of the ten seats in undivided Khammam district, the TDP gained two. The Congress, in the meantime, gained six seats in Khammam, forming a significant chunk of its total tally of 19 in Telangana.
Nevertheless, a dozen Congress legislators jumped to different events, primarily the ruling BRS, ripping the occasion off its principal opposition standing. One essential seat for the Congress in Khammam is Madhira constituency, which is held by occasion’s senior chief Bhatti Vikramarka.
“The Congress believes that folks, earlier, gained on its ticket after which jumped to different events, indicating that occasion nonetheless has assist in that area,” stated Nageshwar Rao. “With regards to the Left events, though they’re decimated in state and can’t win something by themselves, will probably be fascinating to look at whom they are going to ally with particularly after their tie up with the ruling BRS within the current Munugode bypoll. Their alliance with any occasion provides flavour to that occasion, Left is like an Orange flavour to a cool drink,” he added.
Final month, the ruling BRS tied up with the Left events for the Munugode bypoll within the state’s Nalgonda district, which is near Khammam. The occasion gained with only a 10,000-odd majority. Consultants imagine that it was purely attainable due to the about 15,000 vote base the Left events had within the space.
“So, if the BRS desires an alliance with the Left events, it should first occur in Khammam earlier than wherever else within the state. Provided that it really works out in Khammam, it would within the different districts,” Nageshwar Rao stated.
BJP’s ‘poaching’ technique
Khammam stalwart Tummala Nageswara Rao, who has previously been an MLA for over 20 years, additionally hails from Chandrababu Naidu’s group.
He gained on a BRS ticket in a by-poll in 2016 from Khammam area, however misplaced within the subsequent elections. The thrill is robust in political circles that Rao could be part of again TDP amidst an unsure standing in BRS, forward of the 2023 polls.
However, the Bharatiya Janata Get together (BJP) can be hopeful of poaching any discontented chief from rival events.
“The BJP’s technique is at all times banking on different’s weaknesses to strengthen itself. They personally haven’t any power within the state. So, if the BRS as soon as once more desires to tie-up with the Left events on this area and in the event that they demand a seat, then Tummala might need to sacrifice,” Nageshwar Rao stated.
The BJP had gained two essential by-polls, one in 2020 and 2021, over the BRS, and each the instances the profitable candidates have been those that joined from different events together with the ruling occasion.
As for Sharmila, the one technique to achieve power is banking on the late YSR’s significance and clout.