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Political gamble

Similarities in policies and programmes are known to bring political parties together in an electoral alliance. However, as is evident in the case of the Telugu Desam Party now, the prospect of an electoral alliance can also force a change in the firmly articulated policy of a political party. Irrespective of how TDP leader N. Chandrababu Naidu might explain his sudden support for a separate Telangana to be carved out of Andhra Pradesh, there is no doubt that the volte-face has a lot to do with his political need of winning over the Telangana Rashtra Samiti as a poll partner. Just as the TRS, the champion of statehood for Telangana, was looking for support from major political parties for its one-point agenda, the TDP was scouting for new allies to best the Congress in the general elections due next year. Mr. Naidu’s calculations must have been that the gains to be had from the Telangana region on account of extending support for statehood would more than offset any losses in the coastal districts. There are people settled in Hyderabad for several generations who trace their roots to coastal Andhra Pradesh. There is a growing sentiment in the coastal region that a separate Telangana would adversely affect the interests of such people. In any event, statehood for Telangana does not whip up emotions in coastal Andhra Pradesh on the scale it does in the Telangana area. The TDP is obviously hoping to get away with playing up different issues in different regions.

While what the TDP seeks to gain from the alliance is clear, it is difficult to see how the TRS would benefit greatly from tying up with another regional party. If the TRS is indeed looking for a party that can push through the statehood issue at the Centre, then the choice is limited to the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Even if the TDP comes to power in the State, it is difficult to see how the party would be able to help with the TRS agenda of statehood for Telangana. In any case, the TDP could very well revert to its original stand on Telangana after the elections. Once bitten by the Congress, the TRS would be doubly cautious in doing business with the TDP without obtaining firm commitments. After all, while the Congress has been equivocal, the TDP, until now, had been steadfast in its opposition to a Telangana State. If the TDP is not to show up its own short-sightedness, it would have to go much beyond a mere announcement of a reversal of its stand on the Telangana issue. The TDP’s is clearly a high-risk political move with more than a touch of opportunism.

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