Sonia’s fantasy destroyed Congress in its bastion of United Andhra Pradesh
- In Politics
- 07:22 PM, Dec 09, 2020
- Sam Prabhu
It’s hard not to sympathize with Rahul Gandhi for all the ridicule he faces, when most of the damage to Congress was actually done by Sonia Gandhi (Antonio Maino). Much like the fictional Italian character from Sicily “Don Corleone”, whose father Antonio was killed by the mafia, she ruthlessly wielded power. But post liberalization India is not New York of 1920’s, Telangana is a case in point.
United Andhra Pradesh: The goose that laid golden eggs.
Out of 42 MP seats in united Andhra Pradesh (AP), YS Rajasekhar Reddy (YSR) won a massive 30 seats for Congress in May 2004. To his own surprise, he bettered the tally in May 2009 with an even bigger tally of 33 seats. Along with the seat tally, his contributions to the coffers of Congress and Gandhi family made him the darling of the first family.
This arrangement faced serious threat when Telangana statehood came up in 2004 general elections. However, YSR carefully curated and controlled the Telangana movement to the benefit of Congress. His tragic death in a helicopter crash in September 2009 left Congress seriously exposed.
Telangana movement reaches crescendo
Under the leadership of Prof. Kodandram, the Telangana agitation reached its peak in November 2009. Fuelled by a sense of victimhood from Andhra businessmen, Hyderabad burned and the situation was ripe for politicians to cash in.
This was the time when K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) led Telanagana Rastra Samithi (TRS) was rapidly losing relevance. The strength of TRS in AP assembly dropped from 26 in 2004 to 10 in 2009. The number of TRS MPs dropped from 5 in 2004 to 2 in 2009.
Desperate to turn the tide in his favor, in early Nov 2009, KCR told his aides that he will soon start a hunger strike and asked his followers to prepare, prompting them to wonder what they should prepare for if it's KCR who is doing the hunger strike. Not even his aides and followers took him seriously. However, he had an unexpected ally on his side. Sonia Gandhi, removed from the ground realities of contemporary India, fell for the lure of feudal adulation, the kind that Nehru (Chacha Nehru) and Indira Gandhi (Mother India) enjoyed.
As per some unverified accounts, around Nov 29th, 2009, Rahul Gandhi assured an NRI MP from Congress, Madhu Goud, that formation of a new state could be announced on Sonia’s birthday (December 9th, 2009) as a birthday gift to the people of Telangana. But to overcome the considerable resistance from influential Andhra lobby as well as veteran Congress leaders like Pranab Mukherjee, who was advising caution, a “maahaul” needed to be created to force the hand of high-command.
KCR and Chidambaram: Creating the “Maahaul” (माहौल)
Right on cue, with much fanfare, KCR launched fast-unto-death on Nov 29th, 2009, a full 11 days before D-day. This surprised many who are familiar with his dietary and drinking preferences. Sure enough, two days into the fast, KCR was hospitalized and called off his fast on “medical grounds”. However, with passions running dangerously high, the protesters forced him to resume the fast in the hospital.
As per The Hindu (Dec 3rd, 2009), barely a week away from D-day, “The TRS chief called off his fast in two days after being admitted in the Khammam hospital, but resumed it following adverse reaction from Telangana protagonists.”[1]
With KCR doing his part to create the “maahaul”, spotlight moved to 10 Janpath. Despite the escalating violence in Hyderabad, there was no consensus in the Congress core committee in favor of separate Telangana.
Chidambaram, the reliable family sepoy, also the Home Minister of India, was tasked with building consensus while Ahmed Patel moved other pieces into place. Considering the enormous internal security and intelligence apparatus at his disposal, it was an easy job for the Home Minister. His machinations would also become valuable a year later in 2010 for tampering with Ishrat Jahan case to “fix” Amit Shah and Modi.
In the case of Telangana, Chidambaram revived the boogie of Maoist problem in Andhra Pradesh. An almost extinct Maoist movement in Telangana was resurrected to carve out Telangana. Everything relied on the Congress core committee buying into threat of Maoist revival. Intense parleys took place all the way until Dec 8th, 2009, but there was still no consensus in the core committee.
D-Day: Sonia’s 63rd Birthday (Dec 9th, 2009)
By now, all the relevant Congress representatives voted to allow Sonia Gandhi to make the final decision. It was understood by the Telangana leaders that more than “Telangana’s hardships” or “injustice of Andhra businessmen”, it is Sonia’s fantasy that will make Telangana a reality. In the morning of D-Day, Telangana MPs of Congress appealed to Sonia Gandhi to announce the separate state.
“...about a dozen Telangana Congress MPs also called on her and sought a separate state at the earliest. ''We are hoping that it would be her birthday gift for the people of the region,'' said Malkajgiri MP Sarve Satyanarayana..”. [2]
Chidambaram was still struggling to get unanimous support from the core committee. Several back-to-back meetings continued throughout the day. Pranab Mukherjee was kept out of the deliberations on the pretext of his travel, much like how Nehru kept Sardar Patel out of deliberations while handing out Kashmir to Sheikh Abdullah.
Back in Hyderabad, TRS carefully orchestrated press leaks on KCR’s health. His insistence on continuing the fast on the 11th day kept the pressure on the Congress leadership. KCR refused to give blood for tests and frantic messages were sent out to warn he could slip into a coma.
In the evening of D-Day, KCR’s son upped the ante by telling the press that KCR has developed a fungal infection and that his treatment had become more complicated [2]. As night progressed, the opportunity to claim “Sonia’s birthday giveaway” was fast slipping out of their hands. The core committee came under tremendous pressure to yield to the whims of the family.
With finance minister Pranab Mukherjee away in Jharkhand on that fateful Wednesday (Dec 9th) when the party’s core committee met thrice before deciding to divide AP, there was no wise political voice to temper the scare scenarios presented. Home minister P Chidambaram, who has been spearheading the government’s anti-Maoist drive, had an open field to push his ministry’s assessment. Mukherjee flew back in time for the final late-night meeting of the core committee but the mood had already swung [3]
With the decision finally in the pocket, Chidambaram duly announced the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and formation of the new state of Telangana, minutes away from midnight. It was a close call, but Sonia Gandhi got her way in the end.
Chidambaram faces brickbats and is forced to retreat
The hurried manner in which bifurcation was carried out left everyone stunned. The UPA allies who were left out of the process were livid. The key regional leaders, Sharad Pawar (Maharashtra), Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal) and Dayanidhi Maran (Tamil Nadu) ripped into Chidambaram as this could lead to other similar demands in their respective states[4].
Agitations picked up in the rest of the undivided state against the announcement. The intensity of protests and the condemnation from allies forced Chidambaram to effectively halt the “announcement” on Dec 23rd. He assured that all parties will be duly consulted in the process moving forward. This reignited protests in Telangana, but by now all parties tacitly acknowledged that things have irrevocably changed and Telangana will be a separate state.
Telangana is created
After the bitterness on the 63rd birthday of Sonia Gandhi, efforts were afoot to clean the slate. Four years later, in 2013, party high command got its second opportunity on Sonia’s 67th birthday. After a series of discussions and due procedures, it was time to introduce the Telangana bill in parliament. The congress high command started planning for a perfect birthday present to Sonia Gandhi.
The Congress leaders are virtually racing against time to complete preparation of the Telangana bill and present it as a birthday gift to their president Sonia Gandhi on December 9. (2013)
All efforts are now directed towards meeting that deadline. Sonia can now expect a gift-wrapped Telangana as her birthday present [5]
That is why the process has been hastened last Thursday to meet the timeline and deadline of 125 days of Telangana process which involved- group of ministers report, Home Ministers final draft to Cabinet, resolutions in Assembly and Telangana bill in Parliament (winter session) and finally the announcement .So Telangana is not just a creation for sake of anointment of Rahul Gandhi as PM but also that it will be a unique birth day gift of UPA to Sonia Gandhi who will turn 67 on that day. [6]
With the Dec 9th target in mind, the government hurriedly sent the Telangana Bill to the President, Pranab Mukerjee. It was reported on Dec 9th, 2013 Pranab Mukerjee returned the bill owing to some embarrassing “minor errors”.
Having missed the 67th birthday, the Congress party rushed to get the bill approved prior to the 2014 elections. The Telangana bill was finally introduced in the Parliament on Feb 13, 2014 and passed on Feb 18th, 2014.
Congress Decimation
Unfortunately for Congress, regional parties TRS (Telangana) and YSRCP (new Andhra Pradesh) ended up capturing traditional Congress voters.
Assembly elections:
In 2009, Congress tally in united AP was 156.
In 2014, it fell to 21 in Telangana and 0 in AP.
In 2018, it further dropped to 19 in Telangana and remained at 0 in AP.
In 2019, after TRS snatched majority of its MLAs, Congress tally dropped to 6 in Telangana and remained at 0 in AP.
Parliament Elections:
In 2009, Congress tally in united AP was 33 out of 42 seats.
In 2014, it fell to 2 in Telangana and 0 in AP
In 2019, it marginally improved to 3 in Telangana and remained at 0 in AP.
Congress was decimated in both the new states, but Sonia Gandhi did get a temple for herself in the bargain.
[1] https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/TRS-chief-admitted-to-Hyderabad-hospital/article16851826.ece
[5] https://www.greatandhra.com/politics/gossip/will-sonia-get-her-birthday-gift-51232
[6] https://www.indiaherald.com/Politics/Read/35288/Telangana-a-67th-birthday-gift-to-Sonia-Gandhi/
Image Credit: Outlook
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