Seemandhra is indifferent to division of AP

Telangana activists have time and again maintained that there is nothing called as a “United AP Movement” (Samaikyandhra Movement). The so called ‘movement’ that started on December 10th 2009 can at best be called an “Anti-Telangana Movement” propelled by Seemandhra Plutocrats.

This stand has been vindicated by the results of by-polls held in Seemandhra region on 12th June. The results clearly prove that the Seemandhra people do not care if the state is united or not. In fact, the results can also be interpreted as a vote in support of state division.

During the bypolls, several Congressmen including chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana, Chiranjeevi, TG Venkatesh, JC Diwakar Reddy and maverick Congress MP Lagadapati Rajgopal have campaigned that a vote for YSR Congress Party means a vote for state division. They alleged that YSR Congress has a tacit understanding with Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). They said that only Congress can keep the state united (sic).

Rajgopal went to the extent of giving a ‘guarantee’ that the Congress high command would issue a clear statement that they would keep the state united if people vote for Congress in these elections.

The results prove that people roundly rejected the “United AP” promise made by Congressmen.

Several elections were fought in the Telangana region on the statehood issue. And each time, people have extended support to those parties which said “Jai Telangana”.

This is perhaps the first time that the “United AP” slogan was used in Andhra and Rayalaseema regions by a political party. And the fate of the Congress – humiliating loss in 15 assembly seats to YSRCP (deposits forfeited in 7 seats) and disastrous loss in Nellore Parliament seat by almost 3 lakh votes.

The writing on the wall is clear. All these days, MPs from Seemandhra region like Lagadapati and Rayapati successfully convinced the Congress top brass that there would be a huge backlash if Congress grants Telangana. But, the elections results prove that a ‘United AP’ slogan will not fetch any votes for Congress in Seemandhra .

In this situation, the best solution for Congress high command would be to grant Telangana without further delay. By doing so, the Congress can kill two birds with one stone. On one hand they can clip the wings of YS Jagan, whose sphere of influence is anyway limited to Seemandhra. They can also convince KCR to either merge or enter into an alliance with Congress and win good number of seats in Telangana region.

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