Telangana: Political history
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Good luck charms
Aruna Studio, Barkatpura
A picture is worth a thousand words. A picture at Aruna Studio in Barkatpura, Telangana, tells a success story just as well as — if not better than — a lot of written words. Little wonder, netas and candidates trying their luck in the poll arena flock to this studio near Narayanguda flyover. This election, it was no different as leaders believe getting a photograph clicked here ensures a sure-shot win at the hustings.
For instance, Anil Kumar Yadav, Congress candidate from Musheerabad seat, rushed to the photo studio as soon as his name was cleared by the party. “I used the photos taken at Aruna Studio on my nomination papers, pamphlets, handouts, banners, festoons and campaign vehicles,” Anil told TOI. His father and GHMC Congress president Anjan Kumar Yadav had visited the studio in 2004 and 2009 before filing nomination for Secunderabad parliamentary constituency and gone on to win. “Obviously, I am following in my father’s footsteps and sentiment and filed my papers,” he said.
Not just Anil, senior leaders cutting across party lines — Ponnam Prabhakar (Karimnagar), Chada Venkat Reddy (Husnabad), P Shankar Rao (Shadnagar), K Laxman (Musheerabad), Ramreddy Damodar Reddy (Suryapet) and G Sunitha (Aler) — have also visited the studio hoping to boost their chances.
“Damodar Reddy was the first elected representative who visited our studio way back in 1994 soon after it opened. Since then, he has been visiting the studio,” studio owner N Satish told TOI.
Claiming that he maintains a record of all the politicians who come calling to his studio, 45-year-old Satish said that many TRS leaders too, like K T Rama Rao, T Harish Rao, Kadiam Srihari among others, call him to their residence owing to security reasons as they cannot come down to the studio.
YEAR-WISE DEVELOPMENTS
1945-2014: How Telangana state was formed
Arjun Sengupta, June 3, 2024: The Indian Express
June 2 is Telangana Formation Day and this year marks a decade since India’s youngest state was carved out of Andhra Pradesh. The ruling Congress government in Telangana celebrated the event while emphasising the party’s role in the state formation process.
Capital city Hyderabad saw celebrations at the Parade Grounds on Sunday, where Chief Minister Revanth Reddy unveiled a new version of the state song ‘Jaya Jaya he Telangana’. Written by Telangana poet Ande Sri, composer M M Keeravani, who won the Oscar for his work in the film ‘RRR’, was behind the music. A video from former Congress President Sonia Gandhi was also played, where she paid homage to those who sacrificed their lives for the cause of statehood to Telangana. What is the story of the state’s formation? We explain the story in three parts.
PART I: Princely State of Hyderabad, post-independence Hyderabad State
Telangana has a complex history and pre-Independence, it was a part of the princely state of Hyderabad. Present-day Telangana comprised the state’s south and southeast Telugu-speaking regions. The city of Hyderabad lay at the heart of the larger region, but unlike the areas around it, it was dominated by the Urdu-speaking Muslim elite. Ruled by Nizam Osman Ali Khan, Hyderabad was among India’s largest and most prosperous princely states.
In 1945, a communist-supported rebellion broke out in Telangana against the prevailing jagirdari (land revenue) system. The Nizam’s response was brutal, unleashing a local militia known as the Razakars on the protesting peasants. Over the next few years, the Razakars committed numerous atrocities on Telangana’s population and grew increasingly dominant in political matters.
After Independence and the Partition in 1947, the Nizam of Hyderabad was unwilling to accede to India, like most other princely states had done, even after multiple rounds of discussion with Sardar Patel’s States Ministry. In the meantime, the Razakars under Kasim Razvi terrorised the population, lest any attempts to overthrow the Nizam be made.
In order to usher in a modicum of stability in the state, India signed the Standstill Agreement with Hyderabad in November 1947, which stated that all administrative agreements that were in place between the Nizam and the British Crown would continue between the Nizam and India.
However, almost instantly, the Nizam violated the terms of the agreement. Not only did he let the Razakars run amok, he also restricted exports of precious metals to India, began negotiating with Pakistan, and stopped accepting the Indian rupee as legal tender. The Razakars even began carrying out “border raids” in neighbouring states.
As the state started falling into anarchy, India intervened militarily, launching “Operation Polo” in September 1948. Within a week, India had taken control of Hyderabad’s administration.
On January 26, 1951, when India became a republic, Hyderabad was accorded the status of a Part-B state, with the Nizam as the Rajpramukh and an elected chief minister. As history would have it, this state lasted less than six years.
PART II: Linguistic reorganisation and the creation of Andhra Pradesh
While there were talks of statehood for Telangana in the 1950s, the region got merged with Madras and later Andhra Pradesh.
The erstwhile Madras state was huge, covering areas which spoke all the major languages of South India. In 1952, Potti Sriramalu went on a fast-unto-death demanding a separate Telugu state. He died after 56 days, triggering unrest across the region and eventually leading to the formation of the Andhra State out of the north and northeastern regions of the Madras state in 1953.
Moreover, Sriramalu’s death made the government seriously reconsider its position on linguistic states. The States Reorganisation Committee (SRC) came into existence in 1953 and submitted its report two years later. Notably, it recommended that Hyderabad be reorganised linguistically – the Marathi-dominant Marathwada would be integrated into the bilingual Bombay state and southwestern Kannada-dominant districts would be integrated into the Mysore state.
What was contentious, however, was the status of the Telugu-dominant Telangana region. While Andhra wanted to merge with Telangana to create a united Vishalandhra, the SRC itself did not favour this, instead recommending Telangana be a separate state till at least 1961, when it would be allowed to voluntarily merge with Andhra, if it so wished.
But the States Reorganisation Act passed in 1956 ignored this recommendation, merging Andhra State and Telangana into a single state called Andhra Pradesh, with Hyderabad as the capital. For some, like Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Chandrasekar Rao who was the first CM of the state and active in the state movement, this was the point where a struggle for a separate Telangana state began.
PART III: The struggle for Telangana and the creation Telangana State
The sense of Telangana as a separate entity predated even Independence. Under the rule of the Nizam, the Telangana region had in-force Mulki Rules – domicile rules which ensured that only native residents were able to get government jobs in the region.
Since Independence, protests regularly broke out in Telangana demanding the strict adherence to these rules, the first one being in 1952. However, it was in January 1969, after the creation of Andhra Pradesh, that the region witnessed its most widespread protests yet. While the government sprung to action, promising to “transfer all non-Telangana employees holding posts reserved for Telangana domiciles”, the issue refused to die down.
The protests gave birth to the Telangana Praja Samiti, which called for a separate Telangana state. Over the next few years, Mulki Rules were at the centre of protests as well as legal cases.
Finally, in September of 1973, Indira Gandhi initiated the 32nd Amendment to the Constitution, which declared that Andhra Pradesh would be divided into 6 zones, with reservation for jobs being decided on the basis of zones. As a result, the original Mulki Rules Act was repealed, and the movement for Telangana lost some steam.
It would finally be revived by KCR in 2001. A member of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), he resigned and established his own political party – the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) (now called the BRS) with the singular aim of creating a new state of Telangana with Hyderabad as its capital.
While his performances in polls were underwhelming, the sudden death of Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Minister Y S Rajsekhara Reddy of the Congress in 2009, presented an opportunity to KCR. Reddy was the tallest leader of Andhra Pradesh at the time and after his death, political turmoil ensued. On November 29, 2009, KCR began a fast-unto-death demanding statehood. The Congress, which was also under pressure nationally then, relented within 10 days – promising the creation of the state of Telangana.
After extensive discussion on the specifics of the state boundary and the choice of capital (for the new Andhra State), Telangana came into existence around four and a half years later, in 2014. Hyderabad was chosen as the joint capital of both Andhra and Telangana for a period of ten years, after which Andhra would have to shift its capital.
2018
Telangana CM’s son KTR becomes farmer: 2014-18
From: Koride Mahesh, Telangana CM’s son KTR becomes farmer in last four years, November 20, 2018: The Times of India
K T Rama Rao, son of Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, has transformed into a farmer in the past four-and-a-half years.
The affidavit he filed with his nomination papers for the Sircilla constituency on Monday stated that he is an agriculturist and a former minister and even showed agriculture income of nearly 60 lakh. Revenue from other sources was pegged at 14.57 lakh for 2017-18. In 2014, KTR had declared just "member of legislative assembly" as his profession.
The TRS candidate's income grew by 40% between two assembly elections. This included escalation in the market value of his immovable assets. KTR declared 5.67 crore assets and revenue. It was about 4 crore during the 2014 elections.
KTR's businesswoman wife Shailima has shown that her assets grew 10 times during the period. While the value of her assets was pegged at 4.20 crore in 2014, it now stands at 46 crore.
2019
CM has just one minister, as in Feb
Robin David, No Country For Ministers, February 15, 2019: The Times of India
KCR has just another minister in Telangana. The CM runs the state virtually alone
How many ministers does it take to run a state in India? According to Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, it would appear, his state with 119 assembly constituencies and a population of around 3.6 crore needs just two ministers – himself and his home minister, Mahmood Ali, who openly kisses KCR’s hand.
KCR was sworn in for a second term on December 13 last year after winning a snap assembly election by a landslide. More than two months on he has not formed his council of ministers, making it perhaps the first instance in independent India where a chief minister has run a state without ministers for such a long period.
At a time when most chief ministers worry about pleasing their MLAs and finding ways to circumvent the 91st Amendment of the Constitution which limits ministers to 15% of total legislators in an elected House, KCR has chosen to run Telangana virtually single handedly.
He ran the campaign for the assembly election on similar lines, banking on his image of a man who delivered Telangana by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh. And after winning the election he has sent out a message to his MLAs that he doesn’t need them as much as they need him. That he is man enough to run every single department of the government by himself if need be.
This unique situation raises interesting questions. Is a council of just two ministers constitutionally tenable? How much time can a chief minister take before announcing his council of ministers? Isn’t it important in a democracy that multiple voices are heard before decisions are taken for 3.6 crore people?
One could even argue about whether states should have ministers at all given that many chief ministers operate as virtual autocrats, taking all key decisions themselves. The ministers are there as mere showpieces. All KCR has done is take away the smokescreen. It is a one man show in Telangana and he makes no bones about it.
Past and present chief ministers of all political hues, like Narendra Modi, J Jayalalithaa, Mamata Banerjee and Yogi Adityanath, have operated or continue to operate as autocrats, ensuring that their ministers never step out of their looming shadows. Somewhere along the line democracy is smothered, but who cares in this age where so-called strong leaders are admired for their ability to steamroll the push and pull of democratic processes.
Legal experts say that when a governor invites someone to form government, he or she is inviting a leader who represents the party which has majority in the assembly. He is not inviting just a chief minister. The party and its many faces should be ruling a state, not just the chief minister. Also, the chief minister must be seen as first among equals, not as a supreme leader.
Article 163 of the Constitution states that there shall be a council of ministers with the chief minister at the head to aid and advise the governor in the exercise of his functions, barring exceptional circumstances. Further, according to Article 164, the chief minister shall be appointed by the governor and the other ministers shall be appointed by the governor on the advice of the chief minister.
Article 164 (1A) clearly states that the minimum number of ministers in a council must be 12. Only in the case of Sikkim, Mizoram and Goa does the 91st Amendment Act put the minimum strength at seven.
But experts also point out that the Constitution does not set a timeframe within which a council of ministers must be formed. The 91st Amendment Act of 2003, which limited the size of the council of ministers, was brought about by three sets of recommendations – the report on the Committee on Electoral Reforms, May 1990, the 170th Report of the Law Commission on Reform of Electoral Laws, 1999, and the Report of the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, 2002.
The primary recommendation of the Act was amending the Tenth Schedule, which earlier recognised a split in a political party as legal if just one-third of the legislators defected to another party. The amendment made it mandatory for two-thirds to defect, and also put a ceiling on the number of ministers in a council. There is, however, no clarity on the timeframe within which the council has to be formed.
Legal experts further note that one can say having just two ministers is not a council, but dragging KCR to court over this would be tough without a time limit. If the government sees one-plus-one as a council of ministers and aids and advises the governor who then takes a policy decision, it can perhaps be challenged in court on the ground that there is no council as defined by Article 164 of the Constitution.
But more than the nitty-gritty of law, it is important to remember that a democracy thrives when there is some conflict, some angry exchange of ideas, beliefs and ideologies for decision-making to be truly democratic. Sterile consensus for one-man rule is nothing short of scary.
12 of Cong’s 18 MLAs break away to join TRS
Sribala Vadlapatla, June 7, 2019: The Times of India
In a big jolt to Congress, which thought it was on the comeback trail in Telangana after winning three of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state, 12 of its MLAs were recognised as TRS members by speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy on Thursday evening after they submitted a letter seeking merger of their group with the ruling party.
This leaves Congress with just six MLAs in the 119-member house. Congress is set to lose the status of the second largest party in the house as that honour will now go to the seven-member AIMIM. TRS numbers have now gone up from 90 to 102 in the assembly.
Capping a day of hectic political developments, Reddy acceded to the request of the MLAs as their numbers met the requisite two-thirds strength of the legislature party for merger under the anti-defection law. A bulletin from the assembly at night said seats had been allotted to the 12 MLAs along with the members of the TRS legislature party in the house.
Another Congress MLA may join TRS soon
Until Thursday morning, the 11-member rebel group in Congress was one MLA short of the number required for defection. But things changed rapidly with Tandur legislator P Rohit Reddy joining their ranks.
Rohit Reddy decided to desert Congress a day after the party’s strength in the assembly fell to 18 following the resignation of TPCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy from the House as he has been elected from the Nalgonda Lok Sabha seat.
Uttam Reddy protested against the move by targeting TRS, saying, “This is completely illegal. KCR is making a mockery of the mandate of the people of Telangana.”
Before meeting the speaker, the MLAs met TRS working president K T Rama Rao and sought his consent to merge their group with the TRS legislature party. After receiving a memorandum with signatures of 12 leaders, the speaker allowed the merger under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution and directed officials to allot them seats on the treasury benches in the assembly.
The MLAs who have switched sides are Atram Sakku, J Surendar, Sudheer Reddy, Haripriya Naik, R Kantha Rao, G Venkataramana Reddy, Vanama Venkateswar Rao, Rohit Reddy, Upendar Reddy, Ch Lingaiah, Sabita Indra Reddy and Harshavardhan Reddy. Sources said another Congress MLA, T Jayaprakash Reddy, may also join TRS soon.
2024
Lok Sabha elections
A
June 5, 2024: The Times of India
From: June 5, 2024: The Times of India
Hyderabad:For the first time since the formation of Telangana in 2014, Congress and BJP have become dominant political forces in the state, both sharing the spoils of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections with eight seats each of the 17 up for grabs. This was largely a result of a formidable force like the BRS being decimated.
BJP’s performance is especially remarkable given that it had no traditional base here like Congress. The four seats it won in 2019 gave it hope of building a base in the southern states beyond Karnataka and the party started working towards making it a gateway to the south. BJP was eying 10 seats but managed eight. BJP had won only one seat in 2014 and four in 2019. While it retained four—Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Secunderabad—it added Malkajgiri, Chevella, Mahbubnagar and Medak to its tally. The saffron party swept the Greater Hyderabad region, leaving only Hyderabad forAsaduddin Owaisi.
Congress rode the honeymoon period it was enjoying since winning the assembly election in Dec last year. In 2014, it had got only two seats and three in 2019.
The Lok Sabha polls outcome strengthens chief minister A Revanth Reddy, who also heads the Telangana Congress unit. Revanth had openly declared that these results were a referendum on state govt’s performance and projected it as a battle between Congress and BJP, while dismissing BRS as a ‘fringe player’.
BRS had 11 seats in 2014 and nine in 2019 but drew a blank this time. This is the only election where the pink party could not win a single seat since its inception in 2001, losing even the Medak seat, which BRS supremo K Chandrashekar Rao had won in 2014.
Defections from BRS to Congress
July
Roushan Ali, July 6, 2024: The Times of India
Hyderabad : To the list of reasons why politicians sometimes jump ship in a hurry has been added Amavasya, or “no moon day” in Sanskrit. In Telangana, six MLCs apparently had a rushed entry into Congress at midnight Thursday to avoid making a new beginning coinciding with the moonless night of a new lunar cycle.
A senior Congress functionary who was privy to the plan to get the MLCs on board said they had been in contact with the party brass over the past few weeks. The switch ahead of a crucial budget session caught BRS off guard.
“Amavasya was starting early Friday and so the joinings had to be rushed. Even when former assembly speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy switched sides, it took everyone by surprise. These things are kept confidential until they happen,” the Congress functionary told TOI. Most of the six MLCs were with Congress before they switched allegiance to BRS. Some more MLCs of BRS could join the governing party soon, sources said.
Basavaraj Saraiah, one of the six MLCs to have crossed over, said it was like a homecoming. “Congress is my original home. It is a national party and we want to be part of it again and work for the development of all.”
Congress's strength in the 40-member legislative council goes up to 12. The MLCs — Dande Vittal, Bhanu Prasad Rao, B Dayanand, MS Prabhakar Rao, Egge Mallesham and Saraiah — had assembled at a Hyderabad hotel on Thursday evening and were to go to chief minister A Revanth Reddy's residence to join the party.
The plan changed after Revanth got stuck in Delhi, where he had meetings with PM Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah.
The MLCs waited in the hotel and rushed to the CM’s residence the moment they came to know of his flight from Delhi taking off. Minutes after his return a little before midnight, the MLCs were formally welcomed into the party by AICC's Telangana incharge Deepa Dasmunsi, Revanth and revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy.
See also
Andhra Pradesh (June 2014 onwards)
Andhra Pradesh + Telangana: Parliamentary elections 2014
Andhra Pradesh: Assembly elections
