Jagan's toil to stop Telangana cyclone

Updated: Monday, November 25, 2013, 12:20 [IST]

Hyderabad, Nov 25: Jagan Mohan Reddy, chief of YSR Congress has been running across the country these days. As Andhra Pradesh is set to be bifurcated into Seemandhra and Telangana, Jagan is one prominent politicians who is against the unio government's move.

He has been meeting various national and state leaders over the past couple of months to garner support against the bifurcation of AP. Most of the leaders like West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Odish chief minister Naveen Patnaik, left party's Sitaram Yechury and Prakash Karat have offered their support to Jagan in this issue. Jagan has also submitted a memorandum to the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee. (See pictures below the article)

Mamata Banerjee who is worried about the cries for a separate state of Gorkha land extended her support to Jagan, who had warned that Telangana state formation will encourage other parties which have been demanding separate states.

Naveen Patnaik is also facing a 'separate state' threat as demand for a separate Koshal state is on the rise in Odisha.

Jagan entered politics with the gift of an illustruious legacy of his father YS Rajasekhara Reddy, former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and a very popular figure in the state. Jagan's YSR Congress, Chandra Babu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party and ministers from Seemandhra are hell-bent on keeping the state unified. Indeed there are political motives involved.

Jagan's Kadapa constituency falls in Seemandhra, where YSR Congress has a stronghold. As a young party which thrives mainly on the legacy of YSR, who had strongly opposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress wouldn't want to lose the battle for unified Andhra. It is a matter of protecting the the ideals the party is founded on.

Hyderabad has been the main bone of contention and cause of tension. Naidu and his TDP were instrumental in developing Hyderabad into a hi-tech city. He made the slogan "Bye bye Bangalore, Hello Hyderabad", noting Hyderabad's emergence as the new IT destination in the country. But he was largely blamed for ignoring rural areas and focusing only on Hyderabad during his tenure.

Losing Hyderabad to Telangana might prove fatal to the political future of Naidu whose constituency Kuppam lies in Seemandhra.

Another party set to lose from Telangana bifurcation is the ruling Congress party in the state. Experts say in the long-run, Congress will have to take support from YSR Congress in Seemandhra region and TRS party in Telangana region, offering prominent figures both the parties key roles. Also, cases against Jagan will have to be dismissed. The cases were filed and probes begun immediately after Jagan split from Congress and floated YSR Congress.

According to IMD data, the Seemandhra region has two of the driest areas in the state - Anantapur and Kadapa (Read The Hindu Business Line opinion article). To built a new set of infrastructure, a new capital and a different set of politics, will not be an easy task for any of the three parties in the region - YSR Congress, Congress and TDP. There is a major skilled labour from Seemandhra which has migrated to Hyderabad in search of better job opportunities.

Although there is enough scope to develop Vizag or Vijayawada into another Hyderabad, no political party seems to be ready to take the risk before doing everything to stop the bifurcation move.

In Odisha

Jagan met Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday to ask for his support in his fight for united Andhra. Naveen reportedly agreed to support Jagan in the cause.