While the Munugode by-election will be a litmus test for the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the Congress and the BJP, two little known parties in the State — the BSP, led by former IPS officer R.S. Praveen Kumar, and the YSR Telangana Party of Y.S. Sharmila, daughter of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and sister of current Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy — are making determined efforts to script a new chapter for politics in the State.
Ms. Sharmila, who undertook a marathon padayatra in support of her jailed brother before the bifurcation of A.P., has completed 130 days of another State-wide padayatra covering 1,700 km. Her campaign is primarily focused on winning the confidence of unemployed youth and farmers. She is banking heavily on the legacy of her father, who still commands respect among some sections. She calls herself the ‘daughter-in-law’ of the State. Her husband Anil Kumar, a popular Christian evangelist, hails from Telangana. She also hopes to get the backing of the powerful Reddy community to which she belongs.
Mr. Praveen Kumar, who joined the BSP last August, is popular among students and marginalised communities. His innovative methods, as Secretary, to improve the education system in the Telangana social welfare and tribal welfare residential educational institutions society have won accolades. A Dalit from the erstwhile Mahabubnagar district, Mr. Praveen Kumar is backed by Swaeroes, a not-for-profit organisation of the past students of the State-run social welfare residential schools of which he is the founding chairman.
However, electoral outcomes in united A.P. and Telangana have shown that smaller parties have failed to win popular support. From 1993, when BSP founder Kanshiram addressed a mammoth meeting in Hyderabad and subsequently contested the 1994 Assembly elections, the party has been entering electoral battles regularly but with little success. It made its electoral debut in the Assembly in 2004 when its candidate Lake Rajarao won from the Paderu Scheduled Tribes constituency. The party won two seats in the 2014 Assembly elections in Telangana.
In the 2014 Assembly elections, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) won three seats and in the Lok Sabha elections, one seat. After bifurcation, the YSRCP leadership decided to focus only on A.P. The Telugu Desam Party, too, decided to confine itself to A.P. Other parties such as the Lok Satta headed by Jaya Prakash Narayan and the Praja Rajyam Party led by film star Chiranjeevi also made forays into Telangana, but with little success. Left parties show no signs of revival.
Mr. Praveen Kumar’s first task is to bridge the gap between the Mala and Madiga sub-castes. Madiga leaders have been demanding categorisation as Scheduled Castes on the ground that the Malas have been enjoying all the benefits. They are more in number in Telangana. But this is a difficult task. Known Dalit faces are either with the Congress or the TRS in Telangana and it is unlikely that they will join the BSP. Also, Telangana is not known for voting on caste lines. But Mr. Praveen Kumar hopes to change the scenario with his image as a leader of the downtrodden.
For the YSRTP, to make electoral gains will be a herculean task as there is little space for new parties. Merely banking on her father’s legacy may not work for Ms. Sharmila. Even voters from the A.P. and Rayalaseema regions of A.P., now settled in Telangana, may think twice before backing the YSRTP. Their apprehensions of a backlash following the formation of Telangana have by and large been allayed. Business and other interests of these sections have been intact. But smaller parties can always change the fortunes of the larger parties.
ravi.reddy@thehindu.co.in
