SIMILAR STATES, DIFFERENT BATTLES

The Congress seems to have the edge in Telangana while in Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu and Jagan Mohan Reddy are locked in a bitter battle

- M. SOMASEKHAR

TELANGANA & ANDHRA PRADESH

While united, they played a vital role in government formation and political stability at the national level. Even after the bifurcation into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the two Telugu speaking states remain key players in national politics.

With a combined strength of 42 seats—25 in Andhra Pradesh and 17 in Telangana—the two states offer contrasting opportunities to the BJPled National Democratic Alliance and the INDIA bloc shepherded by the Congress. Three regional parties are in the fray as well, with the oldest one being the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) set up in 1982 and led by Nara Chandrababu Naidu. It is followed by the Telangana/Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) founded by K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) in 2001. The Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), the ruling party in Andhra Pradesh, was set up in 2011 by Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The Lok Sabha elections in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and the simultaneous polls to the Andhra assembly could determine the political future of at least two leaders and their parties: KCR, the 70-year-old leader who played a major role in Telangana getting statehood in 2014, and Naidu, the 73-year-old three-time chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, who was once hailed as the poster boy of Hyderabad’s IT revolution. Both leaders and their respective parties could face an existential crisis if they fail to do well in the polls. Telangana is set for a triangular contest, with the Congress enjoying an upper hand following its victory in the recent assembly elections. Next comes the BJP, which is energised by its electoral performances in the assembly and the Hyderabad civic body polls.