The political game in Andhra

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It's a battle for the crucial 42 Lok Sabha seats & this time around the people of Andhra Pradesh have more to choose from. Addition of new political parties, like PRP & NTP, has made the fight bigger, in what was traditionally a tug-of-war between the Congress & the Telugu Desam Party.

In 2004, the Congress-TRS alliance rode to victory on the wave of a separate statehood for Telangana. Five years down the line & a by-poll election later, not surprisingly, it is still this emotional issue that everyone is trying to cash on for the region's 17 LS seats. Megastar Chiranjeevi floated his party in Aug 2008 & called it Prajarajyam, a party in service of the public. But regardless of the initial euphoria he earned, thanks to his star status & non-political background, the political parties soon raked up the issue of statehood & demanded to know his stance, Chiru bit the bait, & in a dramatic road show, announced to the people of Telangana that his heart lies in their wishes. Almost at the same time, The TDP & the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) got into a quick "family" huddle, called the Mahakutami & out came a transformed Mr. Naidu, the man who till recently opposed a separate Telangana & proclaimed Andhra's integrity as his party's motto, did a U-turn & joined the bandwagon shouting "Jai Telanagana"

Even as the last Assembly Session concluded on Feb 12th 2009, the Chief Minister, YS Rajashekhar Reddy declared the setting up of yet another committee to discuss the creation of the state...continuing to tread on the fence.

The fact is that in the last 5 years, it has become more than clear to the voters, that this issue is no more than political armour for the parties they voted for & for those who have suddenly decided to voice their support.

The pre-election period is of identifying your allies & foes. & Of forging grand alliances, quite literally. SO while the Chief Minister has convinced the Center to let him fight this election alone because he says the positive wave for his party has never been this good, after a lot of flip-flops & "deliberations", the Grand Alliance of TDP-TRS-Left is finally on floor. Though there are reports that they might come out with a common manifesto, but considering the disharmony over seat sharing, the parties might just play it safe & keep away from announcing a common one.

Coming to content, while Congress is trying to grab voters' attention to the party's initiatives on the Irrigation front, the Grand alliance is lashing out at the Govt on Telangana & the Satyam Debacle. Though the latter issue is not expected to affect either of the two in rural areas & both Cong & TDP might choose to keep away from it in Urban areas, for neither have a clean track record.

Prajarajyam has the advantage of a clean slate & with Chiru being portrayed as the wave of change, a la Obama of Andhra; the party is expected to be an important part, in case a coalition is to come up.

One thing that's sure to stand out this election is the amount of time, energy & money that the political parties are investing in publicity. Maybe the credit goes to Chiranjeevi for his road shows... whose response reverberated through the walls of the Gandhi Bhavan & TDP office. So this time, even the announcement of regular SOPS is being done either through a padh yatraa, a road show or display of star power.

As always, the caste politics will be played up soon, & this time the vote bank is not just divided between the Kammas (Chandrababu Naidu) & the Reddys (YSR) but the third angle of Kapus (Chiru) is also set to unfold. How much will it change the equations, is something the state is waiting to see.