Telangana Politics

By M H Ahsan



Political parties provide the dynamics of political mechanism. Sigmund Neumann has described the general role of political parties as "the life line of modern politics". It is no doubt that "political parties are not of the government, they are below or behind it". The voice of the state today is not so much the voice of the people as that of the dominant institutions, economic progress and social morality are all dependant on the political parties in a state so the word "politics" has come to mean "part politics".



Andhra Pradesh was described as the citadel of the Congress. After its formation as a separate state, the Congress party had an unbroken record of ruling it. In the early years after the formation of A.P. state, the Communist party had posed a challenge to congress. Today it hardly possesses the necessary strength in the legislature to form even a strong opposition. Still its importance in politics cannot be ignored. Political parties like Praja Socialist Party and Swatanthra Party, which made a mark in national politics, created some sensation in Andhra Pradesh. Also the emergence of Janatha Party in 1977 had its impact on all political parties in the state and several prominent leaders in the Congress and other parties joined it.



The political parties which deserve a mention are The Congress(I), The Communist Parties, Swatanthra, The Jana Sangh, Bharathiya Janatha Party, Telugu Desam Party, NCP, Socialist Parties like KMPP, PSP and SP and state level parties like PP,KLP,TPS and Majlis. The ruling of state by the Congress came to an end with the emergence of TDP in the year 1983.



Another significant feature of A.P politics is the absence of a regional issue strong enough to enable a powerful regional party to come into existence. In A.P when a sub-regional issue, namely, safe guards for Telangana came to the forefront, The Telangana Praja Samithi(TPS) came into existence. It is a typical example of a regional party, which can thrive whipping up popular emotions on regional and sub-regional issues. Its activities were confined to Telangana only. The TPS had no ephemeral existence. It secured a sweeping success in the Loksabha elections in 1971. However, shortly afterwards the TPS was merged in the Congress Party. Later in the recent past Telangana Rastra Samithi came into existence with regards to the safeguard of Telangana people with a separate Telangana statehood.



Elections in a democracy have great significance for they act, not merely as indicators of public opinion but also contribute to its evolution as a political system. Elections conducted under adult suffrage are "an act of faith in the common man of India and in his practical commonsense". Elections have a threefold importance. They influence the policies of government, the organization of parties and opinion of the citizens. Since formation of Andhra Pradesh in 1956, there have been 11 general elections to the state Assembly and 13 general elections to the Lok Sabha.



In 1955, elections were held to the Legislative Assembly of the newly formed state of Andhra. The united Congress Party swept the polls. The Communist Party was routed and Congress emerged as a dominant Party.



In 1957, the second general elections were held for the Legislative Assembly and were restricted to Telangana region. For election to the Legislative Assembly in the Andhra region had been held in 1955. The Congress swept the polls.



Third general elections held in the year 1962 were the first general elections held in the whole of Andhra Pradesh for electing 300 representatives to the state Legislative Assembly. Congress swept the polls by getting 177 seats out of 300 contested.



Fourth general elections held in the year 1967 for the state Legislative Assembly. Result was, Congress swept the polls by getting 165 seats.



Fifth general elections were held in the year 1972 because of the mid term polls for Loksabha. Significance of 1972 elections was 137 conetstants from Congress were from SC, ST and Minorities communities. Result was, Congress swept the polls by winning 219 seats of 287 contested.



Sixth general elections to the Legislative Assembly were held in the year 1977. Congress swept the polls irrespective of the split in Congress party.



Seventh general elections to the state Legislative Assembly were held in the year 1983 and it marked the end of Congress era. The Telugu Desam Party emerged as winner with 198 seats out of 287 contested. Congress just won 60 out of 293 seats contested.



Eight general elections to the state legislative Assembly were held in the year 1985.TDP had an alliance with like-minded parties like BJP, CPI, CPM, and Majlis. The TDP swept the polls.



Ninth general elections to the Legislative Assembly of A.P. were held in the year 1989. Congress threw out the TDP, with Congress winning 182 seats while TDP won 74 seats.



Tenth general election to the Legislative Assembly of A.P. were held in the year 1994.TDP threw out Congress out of power, with TDP winning 2/3 majority along with Communist Parties.



Eleventh general elections to the Legislative Assembly of A.P. were held in the year 1999. TDP retained the power in spite of the internal crisis in TDP Party. But congress slightly improved its tally and reached three-figure mark. This eleventh assembly was dissolved in Dec' 2003 and Elections are declared in second week of April '2004.