The bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh was an “unmitigated disaster” electorally for the Congress, former Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has acknowledged, while adding that the issue should not be looked merely through a Congress lens.
In an interview, following the publication of his latest book, Old History, New Geography: Bifurcating Andhra Pradesh , Mr. Ramesh said, “…from the point of view of the Congress, bifurcation [of Andhra Pradesh] was a disaster. We paid a huge price in Andhra, we performed miserably in Telangana, though we created Telangana; we ended up with only 26 per cent of the vote … However, it would be wrong to look at bifurcation only from a Congress point of view … looking at the history, politics and social factors, bifurcation had become inevitable.”
Mr. Ramesh — who was a member of the United Progressive Alliance’s Group of Ministers on the post-bifurcation process — stressed that while the Congress paid a political price in dividing one of its bastions, the party opened up the possibility of developing the neglected parts of the State.
Opportunities for A.P.
“… the State had become totally Hyderabad-centric, all the development that took place in [the united] Andhra Pradesh, let it be industry, IT, infrastructure or public sector, that was all Hyderabad-centric,” Mr. Ramesh said. “So to that extent, bifurcation opens up opportunities for Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Amravati, Tirupati, and Warangal. So to follow a less Hyderabad-centric model is a possibility now that was not there in undivided Andhra.”
On whether he thought that this was happening, he said, “It will happen in Andhra; it may not happen in Telangana, as the investments are still happening around Hyderabad. In the case of Andhra, you have no option but to perforce develop a new capital, a new education cluster … development that is taking place in a way that [would not have] happened if bifurcation had not taken place.”
Mr. Ramesh also admitted that he had expected that the formation of Telangana would “unleash the forces of social justice”, but that had not happened.
Social justice
“The election results of 2014 were not a victory of social justice … I thought … the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, women, Backward Classes would all come to the fore; that didn’t happen. The Velamas and the Reddys won impressively in Telangana and in coastal Andhra, the Telugu Desam Party had a Kamma base and Jagan, of course, was a Reddy … but over a five-to-10-year period, we expect that the forces of social justice which have been unleashed will come to power at some stage… Their bargaining position will increase… in 2014, of course, KCR, his family and his caste… grabbed everything.”
Post-YSR politics
To a question on whether the untimely death of the then Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, in a helicopter crash changed the history of the region, Mr. Ramesh said: “YSR’s death gave KCR life … resurrected him from nowhere. His party was facing all sorts of problems at the time, there were scams… [But] remember, YSR had committed to Telangana on the floor of the House and Jagan, who formed the YSR Congress, also gave a statement in favour of Telangana. Could YSR have prevented the formation of Telangana? I can’t say. Had YSR lived things might well have been different.”
