With Assembly elections around the corner in Telangana, the issue of regionalism has sprung up again. Despite the intensity of sentiments dying down since the bifurcation of united Andhra Pradesh, it is clear that some political parties are trying to create a narrative around it.
The party that refuses to fall into the trap this time is the Congress. Realising that the regionalism fervour could only dent its chances, the Telangana Congress is in no mood to entertain leaders from Andhra Pradesh who want to play an active role in the politics of the neighbouring State.
This was evident in the way Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president A. Revanth Reddy refused to answer a question from the media on recognising the leaders of Andhra origin as people of Telangana. “Will you all accept them as leaders?” he shot back at journalists who asked him what he thought of former MP and senior Congress leader K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao’s comments. During the launch of a book on Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Mr. Ramachandra Rao, an aide of the former Chief Minister, said that he could be considered a “half Telanganaite” since he has been living in the Telangana region for the last 40 years. In the presence of senior Congress leaders such as Mr. Revanth Reddy and former PCC chiefs N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Mr. Ramachandra Rao said that “he blends with the soil here.”
