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Telangana: Cong may lose relevance

stanley theodore stanley_theodore@yahoo.com Hyderabad, 11 July In the all consuming obsession to make Mr Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister the…

stanley theodore
stanley_theodore@yahoo.com
Hyderabad, 11 July
In the all consuming obsession to make Mr Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister the Congress is playing a game where it is losing Andhra Pradesh in the hope that some numbers from here would come to his aid in Delhi.
The Congress’ premise is that if Telangana is granted the region and importantly a majority of the 17 seats would go in its favour. The Congress is already blamed for the delay in statehood for having made a forward looking statement on 9 December 2009 and backtracking two weeks later.
Ever since, it has been a case of lip sympathy, promises to resolve at the earliest or the “high command is seized of the matter”, which meant gibberish to the Telangana people.
In 2009 there is more on the voter&’s radar. Price rise is the single largest concern. For the two-term government anti-incumbency is intense. Also electricity is not just erratic but immensely expensive.
The BJP would want to climb the rungs rapidly to capture power. In chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy&’s survey his party would win 12 seats in Telangana, but the BJP is expected to win 15. The YSR Congress and the TDP would not win substantially. But the macro picture indicates the changing power equation in the region.
These apart the dangers of communal tension and the resurgence of Maoism have been referred to repeatedly and emphatically.
Coastal Andhra since 9 Dec 2009 night has been nurturing a feeling of being let down by the Congress. Even after it&’s made into a separate state, including a well meaning development package from the Centre, the emotional baggage that has been accumulating would be something else to reckon with. This region has long considered itself as the elder brother to both Rayalaseema and Telangana having contributed culturally, economically and politically. It has India&’s second largest coastline ~ 972 km. Visakhapatnam has the second largest port and Krishnapatnam is among the fastest growing ports in the world.
On paper this is enough for fissiparous tendencies to germinate and be akin to some of the home grown secessionist movements of Europe.

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