The Song Of Telangana - Fifty-seven years on, a people’s dream takes shape - Part 3

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Part 2

Circle of reason Telangana JAC leaders in Hyderabad on July 30. (Photograph by PTI)

The Muslims in Hyderabad have by and large accepted the decision, though the Majlis-e-Ittehadul-Muslimeen had earlier been vocal in criticising the division of Andhra. “In the districts of Telangana, there’s imm­ense happiness and hope among Mus­lims that statehood will improve their lives,” says Siasat editor and TDP leader Zahid Ali Khan. Zafar Javeed, chairman of the AP Federation of Mino­rity Educational Institutions, says, “People cannot live in discomfort for long. When long-standing aspirations are fulfilled, minority Muslims would like to flow with the mainstream.”

Anti-division agitations, however, continued to rage in Kur­nool, Anantapur, Vijayawada, Guntur, Visakhapatnam, Kadapa and other areas, with leaders caught between the angst of their people and the firmness of the high command. Resignations have become the order of the day and Seemandhra is catching on the disturbing trend of suicides. Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Raja­gopal, a strong unity proponent, says the game isn’t over yet. “All the Seemandhra MPs will vote against the bill in Parliament and keep the state united at all costs,” he says.

The Congress’s eyes, however, remain firmly fixed on the fringe benefits. Telangana has 17 Lok Sabha seats and 119 assembly seats. Should there be a TRS-Congress coalition/merger, it can aspire to the magic figure of 60 assembly seats and 12-14 LS seats. And in Seemandhra, which has 25 LS seats and 175 assembly seats, the simple majority is 80. The Congress currently holds 97 seats here but with a Jagan sweep forecast, it would need to have a post-poll truck with YSR Congress.

Parakala Prabhakar, political analyst and author of Refuting an Agitation: 101 Lies of Telangana Separatists, says it is sad that the Congress has reduced the issue of statehood to a calculation of how many seats it would win. “Instead of looking at statehood on a linguistic principle, the Congress is simply redrawing the political map for seats in the 2014 elections,” he says. “Even Indira Gandhi—who cannot be compared to anyone in realpolitik—stood like a rock in the 1969 and 1972 agitations. But today, in the Congress, no one has the stomach to ride a storm, and therein lies the tragedy.”

Meanwhile, Telangana protagonists are keeping a keen eye on the five-month deadline set by Digvijay Singh. After all, they have been bitten before. As student leader Krishank puts it, “Flip-flops define today’s politics. One can never be too careful where the Congress is concerned.”

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Poll Position: The Parties After The Telangana Announcement

TDP
Chandrababu Naidu’s seven-month-long padayatra has kept party flock together. But he has lost a lot of ground in Seemandhra with his letter of support for Telangana. Many United Andhra supporters feel had he stayed silent, CWC wouldn’t have given decision on Telangana.

BJP
Since it was BJP which first said it was going to give Telangana if voted to power, it has some support. Modi’s rising popularity is also going to reflect well for party. However, Telangana’s 12.4% Muslim voters would not want to have anything to do with the saffron party.

MIM
MIM has been trying to expand its base in some districts in Telangana; might just increase tally in assembly. The Owaisis retain might in the Old City. The MIM has had differences with the Congress and Akbaruddin Owaisi’s imprisonment over a hate speech only widened the gap.

Congress
The rebellion among the Seemandhra leaders might subside as even star batsman-CM Kiran Kumar Reddy now accepts that a division is certain. But it would be difficult for the ruling party to retain its numbers in Seemandhra unless it has some kind of a poll tie-up with Jagan.

YSR Congress
The resignation of 16 MLAs on the eve of announcement has made clear Jagan’s stand. The party is all set for huge gains in Seemandhra but in Telangana, it would be completely alienated. If the division does come through, Jagan would have to completely forgo the Telangana region.

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Capital Talk: Possible Capitals For Seemandhra

Ongole
Headquarters of Prakasam district, it has lots of vacant land and good rail and road connectivity. Yet to get an airport but has a port. Known for its agriculture and granite industries. Among the minuses: no great infrastructure in place and no major rivers in the district. Ongole is a water-scarce city but it is being floated as a possible capital of the new state.

Vijayawada
Commercial and business hub of Andhra region. Located on the banks of the Krishna river. Fertile soil and so agriculturally rich. Known for its automobile parts, garment and hardware industries. Has an airport at Gannavaram and is close to Machilipatnam port. Just a 5-hour drive from Hyderabad, but is already developed to the maximum possible limit; expansion difficult.

Visakhapatnam
The beautiful, cosmopolitan port city is at the state’s eastern corner, along the Eastern ghats. It has steel, petroleum, fertiliser industries and a shipyard. The Eastern Naval Headquarters is located here. It has an international airport, and is well connected by road and rail. It has several engineering and management colleges, and Andhra University.

Kurnool
Previously, capital of Andhra State from 1953 to 1956. Lies on the banks of Tungabhadra river. Has quite a few colleges. Considered the gateway to Rayalaseema.

Tirupati
Houses the famous Balaji temple at Tirumala, one of the world’s richest temples and the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, a rich trust board. Touristy place, with high floating population. Surrounded by hills, making expansion difficult. Close to Chennai. Located in Chittoor district and education hub of AP. Well connected by air, road and sea.

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By Madhavi Tata in Hyderabad

Source: http://tinyurl.com/mk7qdsk