"Telengana Statehood Drive Stays Strong"-WallStreet Journal

The results of by-elections in the Telangana region of India’s southern Andhra Pradesh show the region still firmly in favor of separate statehood and have been a blow to the Congress party, which is in favor of a united Andhra state. Telangana Rashtra Samiti—the political party dedicated to establishing a separate state of Telangana, which includes Hyderabad—has won six seats of the 12 being contested for the state legislature and is leading in five other constituencies, said senior party leader T. Harish Rao. The final results for the by-
elections will be announced Friday evening. “This proves the Telangana sentiment is still high among people,” Mr. Rao told India Real Time. “The win will give a boost to the movement.” Mr. Rao—nephew of TRS leader K. Chandrashekar Rao, who has been spearheading the Telengana movement—won an assembly seat in today’s by-elections. The Congress party chief in the southern Andhra Pradesh state, D. Srinivas, suffered a defeat in his by-election in the Telangana region. The by-elections, held July 27 for 12 assembly seats, were called after the resignation of 10 legislators of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti party and one each of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and a regional Telegu Desam Party on demands for a separate state of Telangana earlier this year. In December last year, India’s government agreed to carve a separate state out of the southern Indian province of Andhra Pradesh, which includes the information-technology capital of Hyderabad, following days of violent protests. The government, however, declined to provide a timeframe for the final resolution to be introduced in the state assembly. Several legislators later quit their posts in support of a separate Telangana. The movement for a separate Telangana state dates back to 1956 when the region was merged with the state of Andhra Pradesh as part of a reorganization of states along linguistic lines formulated by then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The Telangana region is spread over 10 of the 23 districts that make up Andhra Pradesh. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi party, formed in April 2001 to support the cause, argues that the region has been neglected by the government, with high poverty and unemployment rates and lack of proper irrigation facilities. The by-elections are set to return to the assembly the same preponderance of statehood-supporting politicians as quit previously, which could augur for more agitation at a later date. It remains to be seen, though, whether they can force New Delhi’s hand in granting separate statehood. Source :