Telangana Bill Saves Congress From Extinction In Andhra Pradesh
Feb 19, 2014, 11:50 IST
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But the party will not be expected to become defunct in residuary Andhra Pradesh: there will be a realignment of the caste composition of the party base. Presently controlled by the Reddys with the Kapus and the dalits as junior partners, the party is now expected to be taken over by the Kapus. The process of regeneration will however take a few years. The Reddys and dalits will gradually make a beeline for the YSR Congress party. However, some Kapus will be enticed by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). In the immediate future, the YSR Congress and the TDP will slug it out in the Seemandhra region.
For the Congress, it will be a matter of great relief if the TRS agrees to merge with the grand old party, but the bosses of the Telangana party have not yet agreed to this. In the forthcoming elections, the two are expected to have an electoral agreement.
The Telangana Bill could have never been passed in the Lok Sabha without the support of the BJP. The saffron party has had Telangana on its agenda for the past 40 years - even when the party was still the Jana Sangh. In the past few months, the BJP however had second thoughts about the move to support Telangana. This was under the influence of TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu and lobbying by business barons of Seemandhra region with Narendra Modi. But the RSS helped the BJP make up its mind. The diktat from Nagpur was clear: Support Telangana. This is our old agenda and there is a great scope for BJP to grow in Telangana. This is much more than what can be achieved in Seemandhra.
The BJP is now likely to harp on the fact that it is only with their help that the Telangana Bill was passed. So, it is them who should get the credit for the creation of the new state. Political analysts, however, aver that the benefit of this may not accrue to the saffron party immediately. But in a few years, the BJP will be a formidable force in the region. It may not be so in the Seemandhra region, but the BJP feels that the TDP may have no other option but to support them at the national level. However, the latest information suggests that the TDP may be in favour of a third front in New Delhi and not the BJP.
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