The Telangana Rashtriya Samiti has swept the by-polls conducted in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh.K.Chandrashekhara Rao, actress Vijayshanthi and the TRS party can now say they are the sole people who are concerned about the region and now the people have understood that. The results would also be interpreted as the people's verdict for a separate Telangana.
This is also a major setback for the ruling Congress party. The usual pan-India trend is that the ruling party wins the by-elections, unless there is a terrible anti-incumbency factor. But this cannot be taken as anti-incumbency. The election was region-specific. Andhra CM, Rosaiah, did not even campaign for the by-elections. Also the party did not win a single seat in the Assembly elections in this region. The loss is actually not a loss to the party. But the defeat of APCC president D. Srinivas should be quite a concern to the party.
The TDP lost its lone seat in the region. Further, it lost deposit in all the constituencies. Chandrababu Naidu's protest against Babli project did not help him to fetch more votes. (The ex-TDP party candidate retained his seat by joining the TRS!)
Now, the so-called star - KCR as Mr Rao is popularly known.
If the scenario of the by-election can be recalled... It all started with KCR's sudden indefinite fast for securing statehood to Telangana. KCR came out of TDP and launched his own party in 2001 with the sole agenda - separate Telangana, which includes Hyderabad.
His fast was followed by violent protests by Osmania University students who supported TRS. The protest slowly spread across the state. All the MLAs of the Telangana region (11 TRS, 1 BJP and 1 TDP) resigned for the 'cause.' The Centre had to create a six-member committee headed by former Justice Srikrishna, yielding to pressure.
By-elections were announced and all the MLAs who lost their seats have now gained it. With Mr. Naidu and Mr. Rosaiah avoiding to be part of the campaign, the Congress' in-fight and TDP's confusing stand on the Telangana, this was a cakewalk for the TRS.
Vijayshanthi's arrest was the climax of the drama... and TRS-BJP alliance has swept the polls.
What has the state earned from the election? The margin of winning candidate has got nothing to do in our form of democracy. A person is declared won even if he secures one vote more than the person who stood second.
This would strengthen the stand for statehood, which the ruling Congress in both Centre and state is skeptical of giving. They may consider if TRS chooses to leave Hyderabad to Andhra Pradesh. The battle seems to be for Hyderabad more than Telangana.
The results have already kindled the emotions of pro-Telangana supporters. A protest that was hibernating for some time, is set to start again. Its a pity to hear that a college student has committed suicide today for the 'cause.'
In short, the by-election is just another case of wasting the taxpayers money. More money will now be wasted in the name of protest, agitation and dharna. But it is all for a 'cause.'
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