Medak: In 2019, two years before Rupla Pathloth died, his family decided to give away to a scrap dealer one of his most prized possessions — a broken matka that he received as a gift from Indiramma, as former prime minister Indira Gandhi is popularly called in this part of the world, in 1980.
“Woh toot gaya tha…rakhke kya karte (It was broken…what would we have done with it)” Savitha, Pathloth’s 35-year-old daughter-in-law, asks as she sits in the front yard of her colourful home in the village of Fareedpur Thanda, a Banjara village some 9 km from the town of Medak. The Banjaras, an extremely marginalised community, are classified as a Scheduled Tribe in Telangana.
The story of Pathloth and his broken matka is a metaphor for the waning legacy of Indira Gandhi in the state, especially in Medak, a Lok Sabha seat that the former prime minister won in 1980. Situated about 75 km north of Hyderabad, the Medak parliamentary seat was once considered a Congress stronghold, although the party hasn’t won the seat since 1999 despite having won various assembly seats.
Since 2009, the parliamentary seat has been with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), formerly known as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
Despite its waning hold on the people, Indira Gandhi’s name has found frequent mention in the runup to the 30 November assembly election. While campaigning in the tribal-dominated regions of Asifabad and Khanapur constituencies on 19 November, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi invoked her grandmother Indira’s name while speaking of land reforms.
“Many leaders would come and go. Many leaders worked for you. But why do you remember Indiraji? Why do you still call her Indiramma? The reason for that… she gave you land rights. Indira Gandhi understood the problems of the poor and distributed seven lakh acres of land to the landless poor,” Priyanka said.
At a public meeting in Khannam district’s Wyra, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, known popularly as KCR, hit back. “Congress leaders are saying if Congress comes to power, they will bring the Indiramma (Indira Gandhi) regime. Why do we need that regime? Did any good happen during that? The poor were left poor, and SCs and STs have been used as vote banks. If they had done good, this wouldn’t have been the situation of Dalits and Girijans,” he said.
Despite her name being frequently evoked this election, political observers believe that Indira Gandhi’s connection with the Telangana public only remains with people over 60 and doesn’t extend to the youth. In the 2018 assembly elections, the BRS, then the TRS, won 88 of the state’s 119 seats while the Congress was reduced to 19.
According to M. Kodandaram, a Hyderabad-based political analyst and retired professor of political science at Osmania University, KCR is trying to undercut Indira Gandhi’s legacy as he tries to build his own in a state that, as part of undivided Andhra Pradesh, has had iconic leaders like N.T. Rama Rao, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and P.V. Narasimha Rao.
“Among the poor and marginalised, her (Indira Gandhi’s) image was very good. She was known to treat poor people with dignity and they fondly called her Indiramma, (a person) who symbolises their aspirations. She was seen as a leader of poor people,” says Kodandaram, adding that KCR is trying to replace her as a champion of the poor.
As for the Congress, Kondandaram believes it’s trying to mask its failures and trying to go back decades to help connect with the people.
For its part, the BRS denies attempts to “wipe off anyone else’s legacy”.
“From 2004-14, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy (late Congress CM of undivided Andhra Pradesh) was more focused on his own name (and former PM) Rajiv Gandhi’s name. I don’t think there’s anything particular (any particular attempt) to wipe off anyone’s legacy,” says BRS spokesperson Krishank.
The Congress, meanwhile, says rival political parties attack tall Congress leaders like Indira Gandhi because of the legacy they left behind.
“She (Indira Gandhi) has been immensely popular because of her pro-poor schemes. Whether it was bank nationalisation, the 15-point programme (for minorities), Garibi Hatao…all these are etched in the memory of the people,” says Syed Naseer Hussain, Congress MP and national spokesperson of the party.
He adds: “When you evoke those memories, KCR and (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi and these kinds of people get threatened. That’s the reason they attack Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders.”
‘Old & new meaning of development’
In Fareedpur village, about 1 km from Thanda, a group of men dressed in all white chat near a small store. The elections are the topic of discussion.
Most of the older people in this Banjara village have fond memories of ‘Indiramma’ but say they are not Congress supporters. “When she was there, we voted for her and she did a lot of good work. But we don’t share the same bond with the party anymore,” Narsa Goudu, a 67-year-old farmer, tells ThePrint.
He remembers attending the former prime minister’s rallies and public meetings.
“I could not understand what she said. The local leaders translated. We got land deeds, land and entered revenue records thanks to her,” he says.
For 70-year-old Naaji, getting land deeds meant finally settling down. This, in turn, gave him — and others among the marginalised Banjara community — access to bank loans, education, and other benefits.
Today, his grandson is well-educated and works at a private company in Hyderabad.
In 1973, nearly a year after the separatist Jai Andhra Movement roiled the state and led to President’s Rule, the central government offered a six-point solution. The formula, which was given legal sanctity in the form of the 32nd Amendment to the Constitution of India, made special provisions for the state and included giving local candidates preference in government jobs.
In 1980, Indira Gandhi contested and won two parliamentary seats — Medak and Rae Bareli. She then gave up her Rae Bareli seat and represented Medak until her assassination in 1984.
Between 1989 and 1999, Congress leader Mogaligundla Baga Reddy represented the parliamentary seat. But the party has never won the seat since. Political analysts attribute this to the party having lost support among the constituency’s Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and Muslim voters.
According to the 2011 Census, SCs and STs make up over 25 percent of the voters in Medak district while Muslims account for 7.4 percent. The backward classes account for around 60 percent of the population, according to local political leaders.
Mohammed Yusuf Ali, a 71-year-old from Kukkunoorpally in Gajwel, explained to ThePrint why he lost faith in the Congress. Gajwel, an assembly segment in Medak, is KCR’s constituency and is one of two seats that the chief minister is contesting in these assembly polls.
“Muslims voted for the Congress before. But (former prime minister and ex-Andhra CM) Narasimha Rao was more interested in showing off how many languages he could speak and the (former) local Congress MLA (Tumkunta Narsa Reddy) never came to check on us even once. We supported Indira Gandhi but that loyalty died with her,” says Ali.
There’s no doubt in 50-year-old P. Balaiah’s mind how he’s going to vote on 30 November.
“There was development during Indira Gandhi’s time but it had a limited meaning. Giving us road access was enough for us to be loyal for a lifetime then. But now, our expectations are different,” P. Balaiah says.
This time, the Congress has fielded 26-year-old Mynampally Rohit Rao, the son of Malkajgiri MLA and former BRS leader Mynampally Hanumantha Rao, from the Medak assembly constituency. The father-son duo joined the Congress in September and Rohit, a social media influencer, is pitted against three-time BRS MLA Padma Devender Reddy.
For many voters, the BRS is synonymous with KCR and a vote for the former is one for the latter.
P. Brahman, a 48-year-old farmer, says the BRS has been able to provide piped water, concrete roads, 24-hour electricity, and pensions in the state. “I see no reason to change my vote,” he says.
Battle of legacies
In 2015, a year after KCR was sworn in as the first chief minister of the newly formed state of Telangana, the BRS government announced its Two-Bedroom (2BHK) Housing Scheme. Also known as the Dignity Housing Scheme, the 2BHK scheme was aimed at providing affordable housing to 5.72 lakh underprivileged families in the state. It replaced INDIRAMMA (Integrated Novel Development In Rural Areas and Model Municipal Areas) Housing Programme — a mass housing scheme from undivided Andhra Pradesh.
“INDIRAMMA housing is a failure. There were flaws, irregularities and we’ve taken the double bedroom scheme, dumping the INDIRAMMA housing,” says BRS spokesperson Krishank.
Retired professor M. Kodandaram, quoted earlier, believes that BRS is facing its own problems, such as anti-incumbency and the allegation that it’s working with the BJP this election.
“But attacking Indira Gandhi will have no impact on the ground,” he told ThePrint.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)