Regional political parties in india s. Bhatnagar pradeep kumar

Though single party dominance continued since Independence and the

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opposition parties failed to evolve a distinct indeological orientation, the politics in Andhra Pradesh was dominated by intra-party conflicts of the Congress. The role of opposition parties was minimal, whereas all the political activity in the state, including the steel plant agitation, Telangana and Andhra agitations, were initially started by the Congress dissident leaders. The opposition parties could sustain these agitations only so long as the Congress factional leaders worked against their rivals and no sooner the differences were sorted out than they conveniently gave up the struggle and rushed for political patronage. The in-fighting in the Congress ranks also shifted the locus of the decision-making power from the state Congress to 'New Delhi'. Instead of party politics, personal decisions of Indira Gandhi decided the fate of the State since 1971 and more particularly since 1978. As such, there was no politics of party or parties in the State except politics of persons and personalities as directed by Indira Gandhi.14 In fact, it was during the regime of P.V. Narsimha Rao that central interference began to increase. When J. Vengal Rao, though a choice of the Prime Minister, started functioning little independently, he was eased out.

The Congress M.L.A.'s confirmed that the politics in the State was an extension of the leadership of Indira Gandhi and that the State leadership was nothing more than puppets installed by her. The party system in Andhra Pradesh had virtually disintegrated, yielding place to the personality cult. The argument was further strengthened when the Congress legislative party requested the Prime Minister to select a new Chief Minister in the place of Chenna Reddy. As many as two-third members of the Congress party were opposed to his leadership but they would not dare to change him or suggest an alternative name in his place. Indira Gandhi was virtually treated as a Mother Goddess (Amma) with a magic power to solve all problems from rising prices to poverty. The ministry showed unflinching loyalty to her. Under the circumstances, it is not untrue to say that politics in Andhra Pradesh moved round the personality of Indira Gandhi and not based on political parties. There was no single leader in the State who could command the faith of the people or lead them in their distress. All instructions came from the Centre and the local leaders followed them obediently. The State government thus for all practical purposes emerged as a puppet government in the hands of the Centre.

The situation existing in the State was ripe and NTR's decision to start a new party was widely welcomed by people from all walks of life. NTR announced his decision to form the new party, and said that he was "entering

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public life to serve the suffering masses in Andhra Pradesh".15 He observed that a new party was needed to "protect the honour and self-respect of the six crore Telugu speaking people" and to unite them in a new bond of kinship. The prevailing atmosphere was conducive for the emergence of a new party called Telugu Desam under the leadership of NTR.

The aim of the Telugu Desam Party was that of "uniting the people of the state on the basis of common bond of the Telugu languge." Like E.V. Ramaswami Naicker instilling in the Tamils a certain pride about the glories of Tamil language and its superiority over an Aryan language like Sanskrit, NTR laid emphasis on the pride of the Telugu language. It is against this backdrop that the formation of Telugu Desam gained importance. NTR accused the state leaders of "bartering away the interests of the Telugus for personal ends."

Causes of the failure of Congress and rise of Telugu Desam:

(1) Corrupt Administration: During the regime of Chenna Reddy, Indira Gandhi who was out of power, asked him to collect funds for the 1980 parliament election. The Congress (I) which had limited sources to raise the election funds concentrated on Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka where it had still retained its hold, Chenna Reddy continued the fund collection even after the elections and in due course of time 'institutionalised' corruption. Some of his ministerial colleagues were also accused of corrupt practices and he was removed from the office mainly due to corrupt administration.

The administrative and political corruption spread to every nook and corner of the State. Thus, with change of Chief ministres frequently the eradication of corruption became too difficult; instead, it spread widely in the State, acquiring stronger and deeper roots. Thus, the stink of corruption, inefficiency and the greed to make money were the main causes for the Congress defeat.

(2) Failure to implement the Party programme: Indira Gandhi's 20-point programme as also the 5-point programme of Sanjay Gandhi, which aimed at the uplift of the downtrodden, had immensely impressed the masses particularly when these were faithfully implemented by the then Chief Minister, J. Vengal Rao. It was because of these programmes that the Congress (I) had been returned to power in the heyday of the Janata rule. Chenna Reddy, who succeeded Vengal Rao, did not take much interest in the welfare programmes. Instead, he concentrated on parliament elections (1980) and afterwards he wanted to enjoy that glory.

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Even Anjaiah and Venkatram though failed to implement the party programme, simply tried to drag on by worshipping Mrs. Gandhi. The programmes which were already started for the benefit of the Harijans continued automatically to some extent but other programmes which were aimed at the uplift of the downtrodden and backward classes severely suffered. The poor and the middle class people were also effected by the price hike and the non-availabilty of essential commodities. Thus, it was evident that though the Harijans favoured the Congress(I), the middle class and the backward class were gradually alienated from it and favoured the new party.

(3) Factionalism in the Congress (I): The Congress (0 split of 1978 created chaos in the party and left it as a divided house. Members joined the Congress at their will and left at their convenience. Though factionalism was a characteristic feature of the congress (I), it became rampant after 1980. P V Narasimha Rao and Shiv Shankar shephered their own groups and continuously interfered in the state administration to change the leadership and to include or exclude certain ministers during their tenure as Union Ministers. All the former Chief Ministers particularly Brahmananda Reddy, Chenna Reddy, Anjaiah and Venkatram and their own groups vigorously worked against one another. Even the senior ministers like N. Janardhan Reddy, Baga Reddy and Kona Prabhakar Rao had their own groups and they too cut one another. Obviously, their infighting indirectly helped for victory of the Telugu Desam party. Once a top Congress (I) functionary rightly pointed out, "If Rama Rao had one more week to Campaign in the Telangana region, our 60 seats would have been reduced to six"; another commented that" we were defeated by ourselves".

(4) Conflict of caste interests: There also existed regional and caste groups in the State. The Reddy community with only 12 per cent of the population wielded a disproportionate position of pre-eminance; seven out of the eleven chief ministers belonged to it. Though spread in different factions, they hanged together when their community interests were at stake. With five per cent population, two Brahmins became the chief ministers. The Kammas had a population of 8 per cent and they dominated the State's farming and trading interests though they never occupied a pivotal position or tasted power. No chief minister ever hailed from that community. Against such a backdrop, NTR's challenge assumed new meaning, for it symbolised Kamma aspiration, the latter had rallied round him. On its part, the Congress (I) tried to counteract the exodus from its ranks by reducing the number of tickets of the Reddy's for 1980 election

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from 81 (in 1978 election) to 69. But all in vain.

(5) Interference of the Centre: The decision - making power in the State affairs had shifted to 'New Delhi1 since the time of the leadership of P. V. Narasimha Rao. In the garb of party observers, the central leadership interfered. Instead of containing the factional fights, it contributed to their growth. The New Delhi power brokers used the State leaders like pawns and made them shuttle between Hyderabad and Delhi. From the selection of candidate for a by-election to the change of chief ministership, the Congressmen repeatedly visited New Delhi in order to pull the strings in their favour. People were disgusted with frequent changes in leadership and undue pressure from the Centre. This paved the way for the rise of the Telugu Desam.

(6) Distraction of women voters: Hitherto, the women voters who constituted more than half of the electorate were attracted by Indira Gandhi. When NTR entered politics and promised to them security, equal property rights with men, and a separate university, they changed their allegiance to the Telugu Desam Party.

(7) Other Factors: Undetterred by any strong opposition party, on the one hand, and backed by an overwhelming legislative majority, on the other, the Congress(I) had committed many mistakes which had led to the losing of its grip on the electorate, particularly after the elections to the Panchayati Raj institutions and local bodies. Its defeat in the crucial elections for the Vijayawada and Vishakhapathnam municipal corporations at the hands, respectively, of the two communist parties and the BJP, is especially note worthy.

The Telugu Desam Party particularly attracted the youth, because of its promise to provide employment opportunities to them. Impressed by its programme, they pleaded with their elders that the rot had set in the Congress(I) and that they should, therefore, vote for a change' and give one chance to the Telugu Desam party. The electorate which was disillusioned by the prevalence of corruption, inefficiency, soaring prices, atrocities against the women and the general collapse of the law and order structure, fell for a change.

Above all, the Congress(I) under-estimated the popularity of NTR. His sincerity and cine glamour surpassed the charismatic appeal of even Indira Gandhi. The election was virtually between Indira Gandhi and NTR (Amma Vs Anna).

When Rama Rao was ready in the early days of March, 1982 to start a new political party, Nadendla Bhaskara Rao, who once aspired to become Chief Minister and twice thrown out of the ministry by Chenna

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reddy and Anjaiah, announced his resignation from the ruling Congress(I). In a news conference on 23 March 1982 he stated that he was completely disillusioned with the functioning of the Congress(I) and expressed his willingness to join the new party. Gouthu Latchanna, MLA President of the State Lok Dal also welcomed NTR's decision to enter politics and form a regional party. Sunkara Satyanarayana, MLC, and General Secretary, Lok Dal, congratulated NTR on his decision to enter politics in the interest of the State.

Finally, on 29 March 1982, Rama Rao formed the new regional party, Telugu Desam and declared that the Party would extend support to the party in power at New Delhi (whichever it may be) and so far as policies inside the State were concerned, they would pursue them independently. Four congress (I) M.L.A.'s -N Bhaskara Rao, CNarayana, Adaiah and G.Rattaiah, joined the new Party. The youth, who had organized themselves as NTR fans' associations or clubs, enthusiastically hailed the birth of new Party.

To refute the criticism of the Congres(I) leaders that Kammas (both NTR and Nadendla are Kammas) had formed a separate Party to safeguard the interests of the rich, NTR declared on 31 March, 1982 that his party would support land reforms, ceiling on urban incomes and dispersal of industries throughout the State. He also firmly opposed the collection of donations by the private engineering colleges and affirmed that banks and financial institutions should lend money for huts and not for the construction of buildings.

The flag that was designed for the Party consists of a wheel in red colour representing the industrial front, plough in green colour to symbolise the farmers' community and a hut in white colour, with a yellow background. The first convention of the Party was held in the Nizam College grounds at Hyderabad on 11 April, 1982. Hundreds of party workers participated in the closed meeting and thousands of people attended the convention in the evening. Rama Rao said, he took to politics, to do something for the people of Andhra Pradesh who showered their affection and admiration on him. He categorically criticised the Congress(I) rule in the State and promised to restore the 'Telugu pride'.

The Party started its activities after the first convention. A steering committee was constituted to chalk out the future programme. NTR and the steering committee members started meeting their supporters from all walks of life. They also toured the State in order to consolidate their position before the second state level convention held at Tirupati in May, 1983.

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Thus, the Telugu Desam party emerged as an alternative in the state. Soon it caught the imagination of the people. The traditional support-bases of the BJP and the communists shifted to the new party. NTR attracted voters from all communities and all religions. The polarisation was purely political in nature. The secret of NTR's success lies mostly in his charismatic personality and film glamour. He had adopted a new technique of propaganda. Wherever he went, he attracted massive crowds at his public meeting.16

The Telugu Desam Party promised clean politics, proper leadership and smooth administration. The people reciprocated their feelings by voting this Party to power.

Party Organisation and objectives :

A political party is nothing like making a movie. It promises to be a slow and painful process. Normally, the organizational network is woven first and electoral politics is undertaken afterwards, for the former leads and sustains the latter. In the case of the Telugu Desam, the whole process was consummated in a reverse manner. It is only after wining the election and forming a government that it has started its party-building process from the grassroot level.

Each legislator as also each party candidate who had lost in the January, 1983 assembly elections, was asked to enrol, respectively, at least 6,000 and 4,000 one-rupee members in their constituencies. The village with a village committee was made the lowest tier of the Party and constituency council, the next higher tier. This was done with a view to facilitate direct contact between the villagers and the legislators. The third higher tier is the district council. In addition to the 23 districts in the state, the Party has added two more (namely, Vijayawada and Vishak-apatnam) urban districts. Next comes the State-level council which decides party policies and strategies. It meets at least once in every quarter. The top tier consists of the central delegates conference which meets once every two years and elect the party's state executive.

As with other political parties, the Telugu Desam also follows the principle of 'one person one post', except in the case of N.T. Rama Rao who is both Chief Minister and the Party President.

Conscious of the need for educating his partymen, N.T. Rama Rao has started a school for future party politicians. Four hundred workers from all over the State are to be taught political principles, public administration, democracy and parliamentary practices, besides Telugu culture and history, Physical training and yoga are compulsory during the three-

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year course. These workers are required to spend a week every month with the people in order to acquaint them with the government's schemes of their welfare. After they pass out, they have to spend a year in a constitutency, at the end of which period they will be given eligibility certificates and a silver crest carrying the party symbol. This training would qualify them to contest future assembly elections on the Party ticket. But to join the school a party worker must be a graduate.17

The main objectives of the party are : to unite the Telugu-speaking people, to check and prevent corruption, to protect women's honour, to provide drinking water to every village, to uplift the rural people by undertaking reconstruction programmes, to ban defections and retain the freedom of the press, to have a balanced industrialization; to serve the peasants through comprehensive land reforms; to provide living wage for landless labourers; to provide a good life to the people of Andhra Pradesh and to provide adequate protection against natural calamities like drought and flood and to delegate more powers to Panchayati Raj institutions.

Reorganisation of the police force with improvement in its infrastructure, to control anti-social elements, weeding out corrupt personnel and effective maintenance of law and order have also been pledged by the party. Reform of the electoral system with a view to freeing it from money power is also proposed by the party. In this connection, the party favours the government bearing the election expenditure of regional parties according to an accepted norm.

When Rama Rao was asked why he had launched a regional party he said that he had come to the conclusion that it was the only way to solve the problems of the Telugu people. A national level party could not comprehend the complexities confronting the state.18

Even though Telugu Desam is a regional party, it does not appear to believe in separatism nor does the word "Desam" in its nomenclature should raise any such doubts. The party stands for national unity and integration. It owes its allegiance to the Indian Republic and proposes to strengthen it so that it can fulfil its responsibility. The party's plea for more autonomy need not be confused with separatist demands being made by some groups in the country. Further, unlike the regional parties in Tamil Nadu, the Telugu Desam does not have any anti-Brahmin or anti-intellectual bias. At one stage, the party was criticised, particularly by the Congress(I), as being a 'Kamma' party, perhaps with a view to beating it with the caste stick.19 But Rama Rao has transcended the caste factor by providing to it larger linguistic cover20

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On 8 January, 1983, NT Rama Rao issued 10 directives to the newly elected members of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly which have come to be known as NTR's Ten Commandments.

(1) Telugu Desam legislators should maintain close and constant relations with the people. When the Assembly is not in session, the legislators should go round their respecitve constituencies and attend to the people's problems.

(2) They should not interfere in administrative matters like transfers and promotions of government officials.

(3) They should extend full support to the Government's efforts in putting down corruption and providing a clean and honest administration.

(4) Felicitations and dinners should not be organised in honour of the Chief Minister or Ministers when they go on tour. The legislators should help people represent their problems to Ministers.

(5) The legislators should help in curbing the activities of selfish elements as helping the poor and backward classes is the idea of the Telugu Desam.

(6) The MLAs should expose those responsible for black marketing and hoarding and other anti-social elements and bring them to the notice of the officials concerned.

(7) They should actively participate in the proceedings of the Assembly and bring people's problems before the House.

(8) The legislators should strictly follow the directives issued by the chief whip and whip.

(9) They should help in close touch with party workers and pursue party programmes with full vigour.

(10). The legislators should observe strict discipline and simplicity besides being honest. They should pledge themselves to work for the implementation of the assurances given by the party to the people at the time of the elections.

On November 1st 1983, the party general secretary P. Upendra, claimed a total membership of over 14 lakhs. The party proposed to have non-official vigilance committees on ministers. Active members of the Party were to be enroled upto 2 lakhs and each active member was expected to enroll ordinary members. Active members had to pay twenty five rupees per annum as membership fee while the ordinary members paid one rupee per annum.

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III Electoral Victory

The Congress (I) felt insecure with the formation of the Telugu Desam party. To safeguard its position in the State, the Congress (I) cautiously selected its cadidates depending on whether a candidate could win his seat or not. Many of the sitting MLA's were denied ticket and the criterion of 'Loyalists' was slightly altered. Tickets were given to some members of the Kamma community to which N.T. Rama Rao belongs. This was done to win over the favour of the Kama community. With all view to preventing dissidence and minimising differences, the factions were given due importance while choosing the candidates. But the local leaders remained sharply divided as ever. Personal animosities and political jealousies hindered them to act as a united team. Though they did not undercut one another, they did not act as a team to collectively enhance the party's prospects at the hustings.

The Progressive Democratic Front formed by the Lok Dal, the Janata, the Bhartiya Janata Party, the Congress (I) and the Republican Party was dissolved following a rift among its constituent members over the issues of the allocation of seats. Both the BJP and the Lok Dal demanded more seats and blamed each other for the break-up. But within a day of the PDF splitting up, another coalition emerged excluding the BJP and the Congress (S)21.

Inspite of their best efforts, the CPI and the CPI(M) could not enter into electoral understanding with the Telugu Desam perhaps because of the humilating terms22 offered by its leader, N.T. Rama Rao. He also indulged in futile negotiations with the leaders of the CPI, the CPI(M), the Janata, the Lok Dal, the BJP, the Congress (S), the Republicans and the Majlis-Ittehad. Without finding any meeting ground, he finally entered into an agreement of some sort with Mrs Maneka Gandhi, the leader of the Sanjay Vichar Manch. Thus, strong centrifugal forces among the various groups made opposition unity somewhat impossible to achieve.23

However, the Janata, Lok Dal, and the Republican parties entered into an alliance with the two communist parties and this alliance contested about 170 seats. There were only 22 straight contests out of the 294 constituencies in the State, with 3-cornered fight in 32, 4-cornered in 47, and 5-cornered in 39, while six or more candidates in the field in the remaining 154 constituencies.

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Campaign

Both the parties, the Telugu Desam and the Congress(I) had campaigned vigorously for the assembly elections. The whirlwind campaign of NTR at 60, has more than a theatrical touch, because there is something powerfully dramatic about the way he was going about his quest for political power. Ranging himself across from the galaxy of the Congress(I)'s star campaigners, who with their helicopters and fleets of cars would spare no effort, NTR confessed to his being a one-man show.24 From dawn till late in the night, he rides a 40-years old Chevrolet van, owned by his Rama Krishna Cine studios and refitted to serve as a self-sufficient campaign trailer.

"I have had no sleep, no food for the last three days" he once said during his campaign, his voice hoarse from addressing dozens of meetings, big and small, and riding 400 kms every day. Inside the van, he sits on an aircraft-style seat, drinking soda and mopping his brawn to wipe the sweat and grime of the meeting he has just left, mentally composing himself for the next one. The van is loaded with boxes containing cassettes of his speeches and copies of his party's manifesto which are distributed to party workers.