The Hindu : Proximity to State capital proves a bane

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 14, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Proximity to State capital proves a bane

By V.N. Harinath

MEDAK DISTRICT

Assembly constituencies: 10.

Lok Sabha seats: 2

(Medak and

Siddipet)

Voters: 16,89,397

Men: 8,39,177

Women: 8,50,220

* * *

POSITIONED CLOSE to the State capital, Medak district has for long remained perennially backward, industrially and agriculturally. The district is also home, among other things, to the famous church in Medak town and Sri Durga Bhavani temple at Edupayala, which attracts devotees from all over the State for Edupayala jatra. It also houses the BHEL plant at Ramachandrapuram and the International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tracts (ICRISAT). Close by is the Patancheru industrial estate, once a flourishing industrial hub.

It is an irony of sorts that the district meets a large chunk of Hyderabad's drinking needs from Manjira and Singur virtually at the cost of its own irrigation needs. Large tracts of land remain parched even as water from the Manjira and Singur flows to Hyderabad. This has been the recurring grievance of people and an issue in successive elections.

Having been under the shadow of the Capital city for long, the district hogged national limelight when Indira Gandhi chose the Medak Lok Sabha seat in the 1980 parliamentary elections and won with a convincing majority over S. Jaipal Reddy of Janata Party. She resigned and opted to retain Rae Bareily seat in Uttar Pradesh. Mr. Reddy, a hostile critic of Congress at the time, is its articulate spokesman under Sonia Gandhi. M. Baga Reddy, who belongs to the district, resigned from the Anjaiah Cabinet to be able to work as her poll agent. The late Tanguturi Anjaiah was elected to the Assembly unopposed from Ramayampet to continue as Chief Minister. Mr. Baga Reddy, who had represented the Zaheerabad Assembly seat, held a record for winning 7 times and another 4 times to the Lok Sabha from Medak. His only defeat came in 1999 when he lost the Lok Sabha seat to A. Narendra (BJP).

The district is again in focus as the political base of K. Chandrasekhar Rao, president of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti. Having successfully rekindled regional spirit among people yearning for a better deal and forging a strategic seat-sharing deal with the Congress, Mr. Rao is now a key factor in the coming elections.

Generally a Congress stronghold like several other districts, Medak had swung in favour of the Telugu Desam in 1983, giving it 6 seats and only 3 to the Congress. Coming back to power in 1989, the Congress wrested 7 seats. However, it suffered a humiliating defeat in 1994 when a resurgent Telugu Desam, led by NT Rama Rao, swept it off the board, winning 9 seats and helping its ally CPI win one. The 1999 polls saw the Telugu Desam under N. Chandrababu Naidu maintaining a delicate 5-4 lead over the Congress.

A close contest is on the cards between the TDP-BJP combine and the Congress-TRS alliance with likely support from the Left parties. The advent of the TRS in 2001 had changed the political complexion of the district and the region. The fledgling TRS and the Congress did very well in the local polls in 2001. Together, they could pose a serious challenge to the ruling party.

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Andhra Pradesh