Hyderabad: The arrest of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu last month has become a talking point in poll-bound Telangana.
Several ministers and senior leaders of the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) have lately been criticising the arrest — the “manner in which the former CM was taken into custody” by the Andhra Pradesh CID and his “upsetting jail confinement since then” — with one even “shedding a tear for the plight” of his “former leader”.
Some of the reactions have also been critical of the Jagan Mohan Reddy government and his YSR Congress Party’s approach in the matter.
While they endorse the TDP’s claims of political vendetta, TDP leaders are dismissive of these comments, saying they are a poll ploy.
Naidu (73), a former CM of united Andhra Pradesh (1995-2004) — of which Telangana was a part till 2014 — was arrested on 9 September in the alleged Rs 371 crore skill development project scam, and has been lodged in the Rajahmundry central prison since 10 September.
Speaking to a news outlet Sunday, Telangana labour minister Malla Reddy said, “What crime has Chandrababu, a leader with 45 years in politics, 14 years as CM, committed that he is in jail, in troubling conditions?
“His name was not in the FIR. This is all YSRCP’s scripted play. I am tearful, but what to do? Present-day politics are as such,”
Explaining the reason for his pain, Malla said, “Chandrababu gave me political life. With his blessing, I won as Malkajgiri Lok Sabha MP in 2014. How can I ever forget him?”
Over the past several days, health & finance minister Harish Rao, animal husbandry minister Talasani Srinivas, Telangana assembly speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, and legislative council chairman Gutha Sukhender Reddy have made similar statements.
Senior leader Motkupalli Narasimhulu, meanwhile, has asked CM K. Chandrashekar Rao to make a statement on the matter.
All these senior BRS leaders, barring Harish, were earlier with the TDP and represent constituencies in Telangana where the TDP still has some support left — Hyderabad city, Khammam, Nalgonda and Nizamabad.
These are areas where Andhra settlers, majorly the Kamma community Naidu belongs to, Telanganites who admire Naidu’s governance, and a good chunk of techies who recognise Naidu’s efforts in establishing Hyderabad as a global IT hub, are based.
Telangana TDP chief Kasani Gnaneshwar said the BRS leaders’ comments are not spontaneous, adding that “they are coming out now keeping the state elections in view”.
“When people in Telangana are also talking about the unfair, illegal arrest of Naidu, no wonder BRS ministers are making such remarks. These sympathetic statements are for the sake of votes in the assembly polls and we can expect more from others, too, as the poll date nears,” Kasani told ThePrint.
The BRS, however, is not alone.
Speculation in political circles here also suggests that Telangana BJP chief G. Kishan Reddy arranged the meeting last week between Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to counter the “BJP is operating behind the scenes” narrative, and to attract some TDP votes at a time when the BJP’s prospects in the state look dim.
The Telangana assembly elections will be held on 30 November.
Also Read: Daggubati Purandeswari never supported Chandrababu Naidu. But as BJP state chief she has to
Crucial Khammam, Hyderabad
One of the earliest BRS reactions to Naidu’s arrest came from Puvvada Ajay Kumar, the lone Kamma minister in the KCR cabinet.
“We condemn Chandrababu’s illegal arrest carried out for political vendetta. Governor’s assent was also not taken,” state transport minister Puvvada said a week after the arrest in Khammam.
The erstwhile Khammam district, bordering AP, has 10 assembly segments, and Kamma voters reportedly range between 2.5 lakh and 3 lakh — around 50,000 of them in Khammam town.
Puvvada, the Khammam MLA, was earlier with the Congress.
Two weeks later, Harish, KCR’s nephew, addressing a public meet in Siddipet, said, “Paapam (very unfortunate), Chandrababu is arrested at this age.”
TDP leaders also claim a dormant voter loyalty in many of the over 20 assembly constituencies in Hyderabad area, like Kukatpally, Serilingampally, Qutubullahpur, Jubilee Hills, LB Nagar and Uppal.
BRS MLA Sudheer Reddy took part in a candlelight vigil protesting against Naidu’s arrest in LB Nagar a few days ago.
Congress senior Madhu Yakshi Goud who is aspiring to contest from LB Nagar, was also critical of Naidu’s arrest and alleged K. Chandrashekar Rao and PM Narendra Modi’s “role behind it”.
Meanwhile, apparently trying to balance the narrative in favour of his party is BRS working president and Telangana minister K.T. Rama Rao, the CM’s son.
As the state government and police denied permission to techies, and political and community groups wanting to hold rallies in “CBN’s (Chandrababu Naidu’s) support” in Cyberabad, the IT hub, KTR questioned the intentions of the protesters, asking “what connection does Andhra politics have with Telangana?”
On Saturday, hundreds of Chandrababu supporters, sporting black T-shirts, barged into the public commuter trains with “I am with CBN” placards.
Speaking on a TV show Sunday, KTR said protests can be allowed at designated spots but not in places like the Metro “inconveniencing commuters like the man from Vijayawada who was seen on TVs objecting to sloganeering in metro”.
Hyderabad also has considerable Andhra-Rayalaseema settler voters, who are YSRCP followers, like the Reddys.
“When the popular belief is that the BJP is behind Naidu’s arrest, what is this criticism that we are against TDP, Andhra settlers?” KTR said. “We are definitely sympathetic to Naidu’s plight at this age and many of our ministers and even the assembly speaker stated this in public.”
Assembly speaker Pocharam had said that “utilising power for political retribution, sending opponents to jail is not good”, adding, “Such acts have no place in a democracy like ours.”
Political analysts say the BRS also needed to send out a message to counter the claims and rumour that the BRS, then TRS, had supported the YSRCP’s campaign spending in the 2019 AP assembly polls.
“When the electoral race is expected to be down to the wire, like this time in Telangana, it is natural for the contestants, political parties to speak in favour of any person, any issue, that could fetch them some crucial votes,” said political analyst Bhandaru Srinivasa Rao.
“The BRS wants TDP enthusiasts’ votes but at the same time would dislike alienating YSRCP supporters,” he added.
Meanwhile, the TDP is gearing up, in the wake of Naidu’s arrest, to contest in 87 of Telangana’s seats, ostensibly leaving 32 seats to partner Janasena. “The seat-sharing alliance deal will be sealed after Naidu’s approval,” said Kasani.
This is an updated version of the article.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
Also Read: Bid to broker peace in splintered Telangana unit? BJP puts dissidents at helm of 14 poll panels