Saturday, July 31, 2010

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.

22 comments:

  1. Huh! Can we still call this a Democracy? Nope! Let's better call it something else like, Politicocracy or Leaderocracy! The dirty Congress' game is taking the situation to new heights. Congress the the cancer of this nation.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sir, I was much impressed by your blog .I am truly inspired and was in high spirits to know that I too will belong to your esteemed clan the NITians, after an year.

    Myself
    Nikhil M Abraham,
    Final year electrical engineering student
    National institute of technology,
    Allahabad....

    ReplyDelete
  3. Outstanding Victory,this resembles the people interest of there past state.

    ReplyDelete
  4. hi sujai u posted old statistics of the bye poll elections.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous:
    I got the statistics from the following link.

    http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/jul/30/slide-show-1-telangana-bypolls-result.htm

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jai GottimukkalaAugust 02, 2010 9:58 AM

    Sujai, welcome back to Telangana! Your suggestion of forcing bye-elections every six months is not going to work.
    Rather I think the battle should be fought both inside and outside the assembly. The re-elected MLAs can raise the Telangana subject in the assembly at every opportunity. More importantly, the agitation on the streets should be revitalized and intensified.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jai GottimukkalaAugust 02, 2010 10:08 AM

    Anonymous said..."hi sujai u posted old statistics of the bye poll elections."

    Yes, this is correct as Sujai posted "interim results". The counting in the 5 constituencies where paper ballets were used was not yet complete by that time. Apart from Harish & Aavind Reddy (Mancherial), Rajendar (Huzurabad) also crossed YSR's record. KTR (Sircilla) also crossed 60K.

    A few other tidbits:

    - In 11 places (except Sirpur), the winner got over 50%. In many cases they exceeded 80%
    - Congress lost deposit in 4 places
    - TDP lost deposit everywhere and stood 4th in 2 places. In many cases, they received < 5,000 votes
    - TRS & BJP scored over 70% of the votes

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have no comments about what these election results signify because I think both sides (pro and anti Telangana state) have always interpreted the results of any elections as per their convenience.

    What really troubles me is the quality of leadership that Telangana movement has, and the student suicides that continue to happen in suspicious circumstances.

    But irrespective of how many people die, and whatever election results signify, Telangana will come only if/when Sonia and Rahul want to give it.And the Cong high command will give Telangana only if they are sure that it makes political sense to them.The resounding defeat of TDP in the by-polls, will only mean that Cong has no incentive to give Telangana now.They will see that even in 2014, if TRS maintains the sentiment till then (Cong will pay KCR to do just that - just enough but not a lot), TDP will bite the dust, Cong and TRS will share the MLA seats.TRS MPs/MLAs can and will be bought quite easily, going by past record.

    The Telugu voters, both Telangana and rest of AP, should simply accept that we don't have any ijjat left.We are all 'baanchen' at the 'feet of Cong high command'.We stab each other and do exactly what Madame wishes us to.

    All analyses and movements are a waste of time.If you want Telangana, simply put pressure on Rahul.Baki sab bakwaas hai !

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Kumar Narasimha

    "I think both sides (pro and anti Telangana state) have always interpreted the results of any elections as per their convenience": Given that all parties contested on a Telangana platform, no one can claim this result was in favor of "samaikyandhra"

    "Telangana will come only if/when Sonia and Rahul want to give it": We already got this on December 9 by bringing the so called HC to its knees. The fight now is against the anti-Telangana forces who are trying to reverse the decision.

    "TRS MPs/MLAs can and will be bought quite easily, going by past record": Sure the politicians are the same but the people have changed. It is not as easy to betray us as in the past (as the results show).

    "The Telugu voters, both Telangana and rest of AP, should simply accept that we don't have any ijjat left.We are all 'baanchen' at the 'feet of Cong high command'.We stab each other and do exactly what Madame wishes us to.': We don't identify with "Telugu" or any kinship with "rest of AP". The days of "banchen kalmokta" have gone. Unfortunately for our enemies, the slogan today is "nee ghori kadtam koduka"

    ReplyDelete
  10. @Prakash:

    "Given that all parties contested on a Telangana platform, no one can claim this result was in favor of "samaikyandhra"

    Is any one claiming that the results are in favor of Samaikya Andhra?

    "We already got this on December 9 by bringing the so called HC to its knees. The fight now is against the anti-Telangana forces who are trying to reverse the decision."

    Oh really ! kounsi duniya mein jee rahe hain aap ! What about the reversal of Chidambaram's decision? What about Sri Krishna committee? If Telangana is already achieved, why are students still commiting suicides? My friend, Cong still has not decided to give Telangana, and the people of AP have no influence on high command either way.

    " It is not as easy to betray us as in the past (as the results show)."

    Fine, what was the promise made by the winning MLAs to the voters this time?We can wait till Dec 31 and see what TRS will do if Telangana is not given by then (highly unlikely, IMO).

    "We don't identify with "Telugu" or any kinship with "rest of AP". The days of "banchen kalmokta" have gone. Unfortunately for our enemies, the slogan today is "nee ghori kadtam koduka"

    ROFL ! Such words are good to read and have a laugh, but not rooted in reality.Rest of AP is not interested in Telangana.They are interested in Hyderabad, and unless the question of Hyderabad gets decided, big business and settlers won't allow any decision on Telangana, in the current scenario.

    I am sure this issue has been discussed to death on this blog.I don't want to add more noise.But please have some perspective when you debate or discuss.If it satisfies your passion for Telangana, curse your alleged enemies by all means.But be aware that in itself will not bring you what you want.I repeat: Right now, only Rahul and Sonia can give Telangana or keep AP united. All interested Telugus must introspect on this, and realize why our 'rights' have been put at the foot of distant rulers from Delhi.How did we end up in this state, where we don't have the ability to solve our political problems by our selves?

    Best way forward to achieve Telangana: Make TRS win 100+ MLA seats in the next election, and also all the MP seats from Telangana.Either Cong or BJP will need those MP seats, and Telangana will be announced immediately.Rest of AP can't do any thing then.

    ReplyDelete
  11. @Kumar Narasimha, I don't want to go the "Re:Re:Re" route so let me be curt & quick.

    You bemoan "distant rulers" from Delhi solvng "our problems" without realizing that they are as alien to us as andhras. Please get rid of this "Tegulu complex" in your own interest. NTR is long dead, n'est pas?

    Hyderabad is not negotiable, period.

    Thr political route you propose looks OK on paper but not fool proof. Thanks for the advice though.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sujai,

    Though a fan, the length of your blogs often puts me to sleep.
    -----

    Though I dont know on the ground realities, I think the current victory of TRS can be attributed to student anger (and enthusiasm). As long as this anger can be kept alive, along with the "awareness" compaign, 2014 will be the year when Telangana comes to reality.

    To me, it looks like the Andhra babus have given up on Hyderabad and Telangana. The momentum seems to have already shifted towards Vijayawada and Vizag. Once the real estate mafia takes its eyes off Hyderabad, the city will no more be a point of contention.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for writin, readin ur articles clears up my mind ,i get nervous and confused watchin too much tv with wats happenin to India like wats happenin in Kahmir really make me SICK, i think if ur exposed to violence for a long time u get disgusted with it and stop to retaliate and become docile.Think most of the kashmiri youth pelting stones are under 20 so they dont remeber the violence of eighties and ninties. Winning these elections didnt make me feel jubiliant because there is no point in these elections at all. Reading ur articles helpes me to control my rage and anger, always thought of throwin a stone or even a molotov cocktail at the glasses of andhrite shop or picking up a fight with andhras in my lousy apartment.THANK U MAN KEEP WRITIN.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The results of Telangana shows that a definite change is in offing.A huge leap taken By TRS is not only significant but also create a ruckus in all other states where such movements are at intial stage.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Studio N Interview:
    Part1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=642a8qejPGc
    Part2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmJx7gtt63o
    Part3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGlYBumFxBk
    Part4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FgCrHXYHLs
    Part5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_CjUq4RPLQ
    Part6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2y8koKuX6g
    Part7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfSG3bVXZrQ
    Part8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSgrLzgrL2M

    A slap on your face. hehehe..

    Go through the interview if you can understand Telugu. Opinions are formed on research, and facts, not by spending time on blogspot. If you do not understand Telugu, STFU, you have no business to comment on Telangana.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Orei Athula Adhi...i think you dont have "ADHI" ( the front part of your male part) that;s why you are talking about it. If you have better know the facts about the idiot who wrote about the book and what happened to him when he tried to release the book. You know what happened to your DAD CBN face after the By Election and all your DADs who were saying the same ...a big shit in your mouth....go have a nice day by watching those videos.


    Cry or die we are going to have the state...we will see you all in the Bay of Bengal heeeeeeeeeeee

    ReplyDelete
  17. Prakash says: "Hyderabad is not negotiable, period."

    Please read:

    http://www.myteluguroots.com/whose-hyderabad-is-it/

    Would be happy to read any informed or educated responses rather than just emotional outbursts and abuses. Please stay human.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Kumar Narasimha:

    You can read some of the posts on this blog related to Hyderabad.

    A city does not belong to the taxpayers or the investors. Just because Costal Andhra contributed to Hyderabad by paying taxes does not make Hyderabad belong to Coast Andhra. Such an argument is fraught with many flaws and should be rejected right away. Those who keep proposing such arguments should read history books.

    British collected taxes from entire India including those parts which are now Pakistan and Bangladesh to build Lutyens Delhi. That does not mean Pakistan has a right over New Delhi.

    A city does not belong to tax payers either. Many Indian, Mexican and Chinese immigrants living in Bay Area of California contribute to the taxes. But in NO convoluted arguments can one say that San Jose belongs to India, Mexico or China.

    A city does not belong to investors either. Many Gujarathis live in Mumbai and have invested in Mumbai and yet Mumbai does not belong to Gujarat.

    Nalamotu has got his arguments completely wrong. He lives in USA. There are many cities that were formed with taxes from British in the initial days of formation of USA. Does USA concede those cities to Britain? Not really. When states demerge, the cities belonging to those regions go to the new states. Nobody claims a city that is inside another region for themselves. Only Andhras can come up with ridiculous claims.

    As much as Telangana has no rights over Vijayawada or Vizag though they contributed to the growth of those cities with their taxes, Andhras have no rights over Hyderabad which lies deep inside Telangana.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hey NaRaHimsa

    Better analyize and talk wise. There is period after Telangana State Formation not about the capital. If you want HYD then better think abut Vizag ,and you dont know one thing that Thirupathi is not belongs to you , it belongs to TamilNadu..

    Read below editorial how idiots and fools you are ( Andhra ppl) ..how foolishly you make things worst...thats why you have been kicked out of Madras in 24Hrs...

    (Editorial from Hindu)
    One should understand that the present move is not bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. Telangana is a not a new entity and it existed under the Hyderabad Kingdom ruled by the Nizams before India got freedom in 1947. Interestingly, Telangana has maintained its separate cultural and linguistic (Urdu) identity even after 60 years of freedom. However, Telangana has remained socially and educationally backward and became economically poor due to prolonged neglect. Out of 10 districts, nine were recognised by the Government of India as backward regions. These regions recorded maximum farmers’ suicides and increased joblessness every year. The Krishna and the Godavari rivers flow through this region, but water utilisation plans were not adequate. All these factors led to an upsurge of Naxals, Maoists and People’s War Group and their attacks led to a frequent breakdown of law and order. These are the reasons for the separation of Telangana from the fertile Andhra and the mines rich Rayalaseema regions.

    The issue should be viewed from the development angle and not from a political perspective. In fact, in the last Parliament and State Assembly elections, all the political parties, both national and regional, listed in their election manifestos, the demand for a separate Telangana. The Congress has failed to highlight this and expose all these parties who oppose the separation of Telangana. Now they all try to downplay the separation issue because the Congress party will get political mileage and form the first ministry. A similar situation arose when Andhra Pradesh was separated from the Madras Presidency in 1953. They were demanding Madras city to be with Andhra and there was a big agitation all over Andhra with a slogan “Madras Manadhe” (Madras is ours). Actually, the Tamils exhibited an extraordinary maturity and magnanimity and they never opposed the partition of Andhra from Madras. This greatly helped the advancement and prosperity of Andhra Pradesh. It is unfortunate that a similar gesture from the people of Andhra towards the people of their own lingual origin is now lacking.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hey NaRaHimsa

    Better analyize and talk wise. There is period after Telangana State Formation not about the capital. If you want HYD then better think abut Vizag ,and you dont know one thing that Thirupathi is not belongs to you , it belongs to TamilNadu..

    Read below editorial how idiots and fools you are ( Andhra ppl) ..how foolishly you make things worst...thats why you have been kicked out of Madras in 24Hrs...

    (Editorial from Hindu)
    One should understand that the present move is not bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. Telangana is a not a new entity and it existed under the Hyderabad Kingdom ruled by the Nizams before India got freedom in 1947. Interestingly, Telangana has maintained its separate cultural and linguistic (Urdu) identity even after 60 years of freedom. However, Telangana has remained socially and educationally backward and became economically poor due to prolonged neglect. Out of 10 districts, nine were recognised by the Government of India as backward regions. These regions recorded maximum farmers’ suicides and increased joblessness every year. The Krishna and the Godavari rivers flow through this region, but water utilisation plans were not adequate. All these factors led to an upsurge of Naxals, Maoists and People’s War Group and their attacks led to a frequent breakdown of law and order. These are the reasons for the separation of Telangana from the fertile Andhra and the mines rich Rayalaseema regions.

    The issue should be viewed from the development angle and not from a political perspective. In fact, in the last Parliament and State Assembly elections, all the political parties, both national and regional, listed in their election manifestos, the demand for a separate Telangana. The Congress has failed to highlight this and expose all these parties who oppose the separation of Telangana. Now they all try to downplay the separation issue because the Congress party will get political mileage and form the first ministry. A similar situation arose when Andhra Pradesh was separated from the Madras Presidency in 1953. They were demanding Madras city to be with Andhra and there was a big agitation all over Andhra with a slogan “Madras Manadhe” (Madras is ours). Actually, the Tamils exhibited an extraordinary maturity and magnanimity and they never opposed the partition of Andhra from Madras. This greatly helped the advancement and prosperity of Andhra Pradesh. It is unfortunate that a similar gesture from the people of Andhra towards the people of their own lingual origin is now lacking.

    ReplyDelete
  21. 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 is not true. If an MLA resigns without stating any reason, the speaker should not reject that. Keeping this in mind the T-MLAs resignations were accepted. Also the speaker doesn't accepted those immediately. After a face-to-face discussion with TRS-MLAs, he accepted.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Mr Narasimha, Your had only one hope in this anti-TG movement, by releasing a scribbled book with convenient statistics. Author never even visited TG areas, let alone the irrigation projects. These arguments waste everybodies time, I have argued in some other anti-TG facebook group and here is my take on what will happen if we go with that logic used by Andhraiits in claiming Hyd.
    With Mr, Nallamothu's Logic, Alaska can now take claim of Russiian cities including Moscow , Russia let go of Alaska in 1860 to USA. For a moment, lets assume that Seema-andhra contributed to Hyd, at the same time, TG contributed to Seemandhra region(Vijayawada, Vizag, madras, tirupathi, Kurnool) also, since Nizam had to pay money to British starting from 1796. so, its even. No, not even, in fact we can claim all your cities for one hyderabad. Does this make sense. It does not. I lost hope on this psuedo-intelligent Nallamothu NRI.. It makes sense if Seemandhra can claim for Chennai since their taxes were directly used by british to develop infrastructure in Chennai, not Hyderabad. Current Pakistan and Bangladesh contributed to Delhi capital starting from 1100 to 1947, for 800+ years..

    and Sujai, excellent analysis..

    ReplyDelete

Dear Commenters:
Please identify yourself. At least use a pseudonym. Otherwise there will be too many *Anonymous*; making it confusing.

Do NOT write personal information or whereabouts about the author or other commenters. You are free to write about yourself. Please do not use abusive language. Do not indulge in personal attacks and insults.

Write comments which are relevant and make sense so that the debate remains healthy.