Hyderabad, January 4
The bitter regional divide plaguing political parties in Andhra Pradesh over the Telangana issue is expected to come to the fore at an all-party meeting convened by the Centre in Delhi tomorrow to find a solution to the tangle.
Vertically split on regional lines, the main political players — the ruling Congress and the main opposition, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) — have been unable to finalise their stand on the statehood issue but are throwing challenge at each other to spell out their position.
The two parties have nominated one leader each from Telangana and coastal Andhra regions to represent at the all-party meeting, indicating that a divided opinion will be put forward before the Union government.
While the attention is riveted on the Delhi meeting with supporters and opponents of the state’s bifurcation lobbying hard with the Centre, it is clear that consensus will prove to be evasive, given the regional divide.
While Telangana leaders of the Congress and the TDP are campaigning for statehood cause, the leaders from Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions are rooting for integrated state. They are expected to articulate their respective positions at the meeting.
The Congress is seeking to draw comfort from the fact that it has initiated the process for formation of Telangana state through consensus-building. The ruling party is keen to push the TDP in a tight spot as the regional party had backtracked on its earlier support for an Assembly resolution on Telangana.
Out of eight parties invited by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram for talks, three parties support statehood for Telangana, two are opposed to it, while three are undecided.
The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), which is in the forefront of the statehood movement, the BJP and the CPI are in favour of initiating the process for formation of Telangana state within a specified timeframe.
The CPM and actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) are strongly opposed to the state’s division. The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), a key political force in Hyderabad, is yet to take a stand.
Indicating a divided opinion in the party, the Congress has nominated K Sambasiva Rao, MP from coastal Andhra opposing bifurcation, and Uttam Kumar Reddy, a party legislator from Telangana and a staunch supporter of the statehood cause, as its representatives.
Similarly, the TDP will be represented by Y Ramakrishnudu, a senior leader from coastal Andhra and R Prakash Reddy from Telangana.
“Our strategy will be to compel the Congress to spell out its stand first. Instead of asking opinions of other parties, it should make its position clear,” a TDP leader said.
