Telangana 54: By Elections

Telangana Movement became a mainstream agitation in December 2009 when KCR undertook a fast for the cause of Telangana.  The silent movement of nearly thirty years took an upswing and became an active and vocal one all of a sudden with the events of December 2009.  The popular sentiment that has been lurking in the minds of the people of this region took on the national stage affecting the politics of the state and the country. 

Since December 2009, there have been repeated resignations by MLAs of the state in both Telangana and Seemandhra regions of the united state of Andhra Pradesh.  When the MLAs of Seemandhra resigned en masse after P Chidamabaram’s 9 Dec 2009 declaration for a separate Telangana, the speaker of the State Assembly belonging to the ruling Congress Party did not accept any of them citing a petty technical error in resignation letter format.  However, when Telangana MLAs of non-Congress parties resigned, the speaker immediately accepted them.  This was done with a motive of winning at least some of the seats vacated by Telangana proponents highlighting one of the farces of Indian democracy.

Indian democracy does not deal with referendums and therefore elections are forced onto the people again and again as happened in Telangana.  No matter how people of Telangana vote, the elections are interpreted differently by different factions.  When people find themselves unable to express through polls, they take to streets and resort to suicides, while MLAs tend to resign again and again unnecessarily forcing elections onto the people.  Looks like Indian democracy has no means of addressing genuine aspirations of its people.

Let’s ask the basic question: Why should the resigning MLAs stand for reelection?

An MLA would have resigned for a certain reason.  And why should he stand for reelection if that reason is still not satisfied?  These by-elections came about because some Telangana MLAs resigned when New Delhi has not taken concrete steps towards creation of Telangana state.   So far New Delhi has not changed its stance towards Telangana.  Therefore, it does not make sense that these resigning MLA should stand for reelection when nothing has changed in the positive direction for Telangana.

And yet, today, Telangana celebrates the victory of these resigning MLAs citing it as a vindication of the popular Telangana Movement.

So let’s understand these by-elections and its results in the context of Telangana and the flawed Indian democracy.

Why did these Telangana MLAs resign in the first place?  They did so to uphold a promise made by ALL Telangana leaders of ALL parties where they took a vow that they would resign en masse unless New Delhi announces creation of new state of Telangana.  When the deadline passed without any positive outcome, some of the MLAs belonging to TRS and one from BJP resigned, but other leaders of Telangana backtracked from their promise of resignation displaying their greed for power rather than obeying the popular sentiment of the region. 

This time however the Speaker of the State Assembly immediately accepted these resignations in a display of political machinations coming out of the avarice of other political parties keen on winning at least some of the seats vacated by 'sentimental and foolish' leaders of Telangana. 

These other political parties were not sure if their MLAs should resign at this point of time.  They were not sure how popular the Telangana sentiment was.  ‘Is the sentiment so high that it would affect the electoral results? Why take chances by resigning?  Let’s stick to our seats of power and wait till 2014 general elections’ – that’s what these non-resigning MLAs thought.

Now, it became a contest for measuring the sentiment of Telangana.  Is the sentiment really high as some politicians have claimed or is it an artificial creation?

There were many doubters from Seemandhra and New Delhi who dismissed Telangana Movement on many counts.  One Seemandhra politician claimed that more than 80% people in Telangana did not want a new state and that only a small section actually sought Telangana.  There is no way to verify this in Indian democracy.  When people came out in lakhs onto streets in protest, Seemandhra leaders said that these people were given money and incentives by vested interests. 

Therefore it became necessary for people of Telangana to tell the world that the sentiment was indeed running high.  In absence of an official referendum these by-polls substituted for it in Indian democracy.   These polls were not for development, not for jobs, not for caste or religion, not for better health or for electricity.  These polls were only for one motive – that of creation of Telangana.

The world wanted to see the sign – is the movement really popular? Do the majority support it? 

And the people of Telangana delivered on it.  Results are clear and emphatic.

It was a landslide, unambiguous and unequivocal victory for TRS and its partners winning all the vacated seats including grabbing one from switching TDP candidate.   These victors of Telangana set new records in Andhra Pradesh’s electoral history.  

T Harish Rao of TRS won with the highest margin in AP Assembly elections with a margin of 95,858 votes beating YSR’s 2009 record of winning with a margin of 68,681 votes from Kadapa.  Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which was a dominant force in Telangana till advent of 2009-10 Telangana agitation, lost deposits in all 12 assembly constituencies. Congress lost deposits in 4 constituencies. 

Chandra Babu Naidu's (CBN) bluff is called.  This master politician created an artificial issue in Bhabli project to create a new enemy for Telangana people in the form of Maharashtra.  He tried to tell Telangana people that this project in Maharashtra will stop water to the regions of Telangana.  The same leader who was OK with this project when he was the CM has now changed his stance.  His crocodile tears did not sway Telangana people.  His charade was discarded.  In a clear message, the people of Telangana are not ready to trust Seemandhra politicians no matter what kind of dance they dance or sing any kind of tune.  The biggest reason why Telangana does not get water is because Andhras don’t give us water, not because Maharashtra robs us.  The biggest enemy is Andhra not Maharashtra.  Thankfully, Telangana people rejected CBN and his foolish pranks. With this TDP has is on verge of being eliminated from the region forever.

D Srinivas, the vocal Congress candidate in Nizamabad, lost out to BJP candidate only on Telangana sentiment.  D Srinivas stood on an ambiguous plank.  While he promised Telangana in speeches, it was clear that high command of Congress was not making any overtures for Telangana. 

Almost all the resigning candidates improved on their margins clearly vindicating the popular Telangana sentiment.

However the detractors are quick to point out that this is no true reflection of the entire region because other regions have not gone to polls.  They say: Telangana reelected the leaders who have resigned.  That’s no sign of movement in other regions of Telangana. 

There is no way of dealing with these doubts.  These doubts will remain forever.  No matter what the outcome, these detractors will remain unconvinced.  Isn’t it a ridiculous argument that entire population of Telangana should vote only one party to show the world they want Telangana especially when every other party also promises Telangana? 

It’s like saying, since the people have voted all parties that have promised water we will not give your water.  We will give water to your region ONLY when you vote only one particular vociferous party which demands water.  It is a stupid argument.
Today, entire Telangana demands Telangana, and yet our democracy has no way of translating that majority opinion into a firm verdict.  Every electoral result can be pooh-poohed with some kind of trickery and hoodwinking analysis, some sophistry and malicious argument.

Let’s call our democracy a sham and a farce that is not ready to deal with the popular sentiment of nearly 40 million people spanning 55 years.  I have an idea to ridicule this democracy.  The leaders who won the elections should resign once again and bring on new elections.  There should be elections in this region every six months till the next general elections of 2014.  Let’s make a fun of our democracy.  Let’s go to polls every six months.  We should go to polls till no candidate dares to contest elections and when every opponent loses his deposit.   Even then there is no way to convince the detractors.   Hopefully, other leaders of Telangana will realize that they don’t stand a chance in 2014 and start forcing their party bosses to take a relook at their position.

Congress at the center should not wait for the report from Sri Krishna Committee.  That wait is going to result in rout of Congress from Telangana region paving the way for BJP in this region.  It is not in the best interest of Telangana to have BJP winning in Telangana and yet that is what Congress is doing.

Leaders like Madhu Yakshi of Congress from Nizamabad have already admitted that they lost out because of Telangana sentiment.   He has been a strong proponent of Telangana but has been asked to kowtow to the diktat from New Delhi.  These leaders will now be forced to come out and put up a defiant position against their party bosses in support of the cause of Telangana. 

Hopefully, these elections will wake up the slumbering and traitorous politicians of Telangana.  They should now realize that sentiment is so strong that no amount of incentives will get them their votes.   Its time they realize that all of them have to stand united at least on one cause – that of Telangana; and only such a stance will deliver Telangana and their votes.  Let's hope that our flawed democracy works at least through some devious and slow methods and delivers on Telangana.

Victory Sweet Victory for all Telanganites !!!

After resignation of TRS mla's and a very foul and cunning play by speaker Kiran Kumar Reddy in accepting resignations of only TRS mla's and rejecting those of congress Mla's the future of TRS mla's hung in air as various expectations were made by both the pro and anti Telangana sentiment. Telangana Voter has proved that he is not a "Dummy" as the politicians are trying to portray him and is well aware of who is supporting Telanagna.

Telangana voter has proved that politicians cannot hold back the state demand but he holds the fate of Politicians . Politicians of different parties get a wake up call from the Telangana voter on the Counting day as they voted out of the way those who hindered seperate statehood demand. Some things very peculiar that happened in this electiion are that the voter has not only voted for a pro telangana party but also put letters in the Ballot boxes asking for telanganites not to die for statehood cause but fight for it. Some letters were addresed to Election commission, some referring various comments made by the PM, Chidambaram and other political leaders regarding Telangana. This victory is not only sweet but also shows the Deep rooted desire of Telangana people for a statehood and its development. Some of the Bigwigs like DS looses in Nizamabad, and Harish Rao winning with a record majority .Its High time that Politicians realise they cannot ignore the deep desire of Telangana people for too long. This touches our heart and we want to pay tribute to all those who died for Telangana and want to thank everyone who voted out the anti Telangana parties. Hope to See our dream come true sooon. Jai Telangana.

Let See who has said what after the Results :

Harish Rao:

My win is dedicated to Telangana amaraveerulu. The majority has made me feel more responsible and will work for Telangna till my last breath.

D. Srinivas:

People have voted for sentiment. Win or No win, I’m a Telangna vadi and will fight for Telangna.

Rosaiah:

We accept the defeat. We understand thta there is strong Telangna sentiment.

Lagadapati:

The results have dissapointed me. I never said that there is no sentiment. We can sit and discuss to decide if we need to have 2 or 3 states

Davender Goud:

We could not win seats because we concentrated more on the Bhabli issue.

KTR:

This is a clear indication of Telangana sentiment. Parties should atleast now stop there two-tongue and two-eye theories.

please dont commit suicides

please do not commit suicides,the only way we can be separated is  by the hasitations and by the udyamam


"ATMAHATYALATHO RADU TELANGANA 
PORADITHENE DAKUTHUNDI MANA KALALA TELANGANA
ANDUKE ATMAHATYALU VADDU PORATALLE MUDDU"

JAI TELANGANA!
       JAI JAI TELANGANA!!

What’s going on in Sonia Gandhi’s mind ?

Exit poll surveys indicate that TRS is up for a clean sweep and BJP would win the Nizamabad seat. Lagadapati had also come up with the same results. Infact, he claimed that he had done the survey two months back itself and that he had taken the results to Sonia Gandhi’s attention. Then why did the congress party field its candidates in the by-polls?

Analysts say that though Sonia knew that the by-polls would cause shame and ignominy to her party, she still went ahead because she has some plans with it.

The results would make it clear to the Seemandhra politicians that Congress would have to take a call and declare Telangana otherwise, it would be uprooted from the region. And by declaring Telangana, they can gain the lost pride.

Another advantage is that TDP would be erased from Telangana which would be a very positive sign for them. Infact, they knew that TDP would contest if they are in the by-poll run. Later, Congress can regain the pride by declaring Telangana unlike TDP which can do nothing about it.

Congress is aware that its only a few politicians and investors who are opposing Telangana Statehood and threatning them with mass resignations. Now, the party has a chance to convince them that they have no other choice but to declare Telangana.

JAI TELANGANA JAI JAI TELANGANA
NA TELANGANA KOTI RATANALA VEENA

Hyderabad: Osmania University here was tense Saturday as yet another student committed suicide in the campus demanding formation of a separate Telangana state, and hundreds of students joined in the funeral procession.

The procession was joined by Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, revolutionary balladeer Gaddar and Telangana political Joint Action Committee chairman Kodandaram. The procession was winding its way to Gun Park, Telangana martyrs' memorial near the assembly, as per the wishes of the student.

The body of Ishan Reddy, who had completed his B.Tech from St Ann's Institute of Technology and was undergoing coaching for GRE TOEFL exams, was found near the university library in the morning. After a lull of over three months, the situation on the campus again became tense and police were mobilised to tackle the situation.

In an attempt to defuse the tension, police allowed the students' Joint Action Committee to take out the procession.

Earlier, the TRS chief broke down on seeing the charred body of Reddy. In his hand-written suicide note found near the body, Ishan said he was fulfilling his "wish" as all 12 legislators, who had resigned for the cause of Telangana, were re-elected in the by-polls.

"I wished before Maisamma (deity) that I will sacrifice my life if D. Srinivas and other Congress candidates are defeated in the elections, and now that they are defeated I am fulfilling my wish," he said.

Andhra Pradesh state Congress chief D. Srinivas and other Congress candidates were defeated in the by-elections in the region. Ishan congratulated the people of Telangana and the TRS chief for ensuring the re-election of 12 legislators.

Ishan, who hailed from Medak district, also wanted that Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders like D. Srinivas, Jana Reddy, Damodar Reddy, Sridhar Babu, K. Venkat Reddy, Kadiam Srihari, E. Dayakar Rao and N. Janardhan Reddy be declared "traitors" of Telangana and hanged publicly.

He is the fourth student to commit suicide on the Osmania University campus this year. In March, Sai Kumar, a second year B. Tech student of Osmania University, had ended his life by hanging in his hostel room as he was upset over the delay in formation of a separate state.

On Feb 20, a class 12 student had immolated himself at the main entrance of Osmania University in full public view during a protest by university students. In January, an MCA student had self-immolated on the campus.

Parties fighting for a separate Telangana claim that over 300 students and youth have committed suicide in the region since protests began in November last year.

Why the demand for separate state a long time?

Whenever the topic of Telangana is raised, many of us blindly support Andhra or Telangana based on where we come from. Not sure how many really think of why the demand for separate state has been there for such a long time. The 2 major reasons why the demand has been pending for so many years is WATER AND HYDERBAD. People around the state have earned and invested in and around Hyderabad so there is a concerns about the safety of the investment if the state is separated while both the major rivers in our state flow mostly through Telangana. Below are some facts that are few reasons for the demand. Sentiments can be foolish but not facts.

a. There are 10 districts in Telangana, 9 in Andhra and 4 in Rayalaseema. Out of these 7 districts in Telangana, 3 in Andhra and 1 in Rayalaseema are considered severely backward districts which means 70% of districts in Telangana are backward while in Andhra it is 35% and in Rayalaseema it is 25%. Apart from these there are some areas in all parts of the state which are also backward.

b. 45% of the state income comes from Telangana region. When it comes to utilization of funds, the share of Telangana is only 28%.

c. Normally canals are dug to supply water to the crops from rivers for cultivation. The amount of land cultivated through canals in just Guntur district is more than the land cultivated with canals in entire Telangana region.

d. Nagarjuna sagar dam is built in Nalgonda district which is in Telangana but majority of the water from the dam is used for Krishna and Guntur district. The original dam was supposed to be build much ahead of its present location but the location was changed so that it falls in the Telangana region. Due to the construction of the dam several hectares of Lime stone mines vanished as part of the dam back waters. Everyone know that lime stone is used for producing cement. Even the natural resources were not allowed to remain.

e. Fluorinated water problem is only in Nalgonda district which has not been resolved since decades.

f. Two major rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra enter the state of AP in the district of Mahaboobnagar(the biggest district in Telangana) but the district always remains the worst draught hit areas along with Anantapur because there is no project and process with which the water can be utilized. The plans for utilization has been pending for decades.

g. RDS (Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme) is build in Mahaboobnagar to provide water to 85000 hectares of land in the district. The leaders of Rayalaseems blasted the gates of RDS and water is supplied to KC (Kurnool-Cudapah) canal while only remaining water, if any, is supplied to the lands in Mahaboobnagar.

h. 3 TMC of water from Gandipet is sufficient to supply drinking water to our city. Every year 1700 TMC of water is wasted and is flown into Bay of Bengal from river Godavari. Starting from Nizambad to Bay of Bengal there is no project allowed to build on Godavari. If it is built leaders in Godavari districts fear that the fertile lands in the area may fall short of water. If the Godavari water is utilized properly, there will be no scarcity for food grains in our state.

i. In Telangana regions, only few areas cultivate one crop a year and very rarely two crops a year while most of the land doesn’t even cultivate single crop. In both the Godavari districts, Krishna and Guntur district, two crops a year is common and there are times where even 3 crops a year are cultivated. The only reason is WATER.

j. Government issue G.O.’s for implicating its decisions. G.O number 610 is the longest non implicated G.O in the history of AP. The G.O was issued in 1986 by late NTR who was then the CM of AP, which is not yet implicated. The G.O speaks about the share of Telangana employees in Government jobs in Telangana region.

k. 33% of the population in Mahaboobnagar district have left the district for livelihood to different parts of the state due to draught and majority of them are working as daily labour. No other district has so many people who fled the home place due to lack of livelihood and working as daily labour.

l. There are 25 plus government degree colleges in Krishna, Kadapa and Guntur district while there is not even a single government degree college in Ranga Reddy district.

m. Dairy development corporation of AP purchases milk from farmers across the state for distribution. For the same milk, in Andhra, the government pay Rs. 24 to the farmers and in Telangana they pay Rs. 22 per litre. Partiality is shown even in milk J

n. In between 2005-2008 government sold lands worth Rs. 20000 crores in and around Hyderabad which was utilized to build projects in Rayalaseema and Andhra.

o. Not even a single project was completed in Telangana in the last 5 years while several projects were completed in Andhra and Rayalaseema.

Not just Telangana but areas of Northern Andhra, Prakasham and parts of Rayalaseema are still backward. The state needs to progress as a unit. People are suffering across the state and they need a solution.

Nobody wants a split in the state but when the people of one region are constantly humiliated and denied of what they should be getting, such demands keep coming. Let us show maturity in understanding social problems keeping aside the sentiments.