In the last five years, much water has flowed under the bridge in Hyderabad, known for its chain-linked water bodies emptying into the centuries-old Hussainsagar Lake. In 2019, the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana met at Pragathi Bhavan in the heart of the city and exhibited invincibility. Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy romped to power in a landslide victory, winning 151 out of 175 seats. K. Chandrashekar Rao thrashed his opponents to win 88 seats out of 119 in the Telangana Assembly elections. Both posed for photos and discussed pending issues related to the bifurcation of the two Telugu states.
At that point, in mid-2019, Jagan’s opponent and TDP President N. Chandrababu Naidu was written off after suffering his most humiliating defeat ever. In the neighbouring state, KCR’s political foe, Revanth Reddy, who was the Congress Working President then, lost in his own seat but managed to win a parliament seat in the following general elections.
Cut to 2024, Revanth Reddy as CM of Telangana and Naidu as CM of Andhra Pradesh are meeting at the same venue, which has been renamed Mahatma Jyothi Rao Phule Praja Bhavan. The agenda is the same, but the meeting has gained importance for many other reasons too.
For starters, Naidu wrote a letter to his counterpart, and the latter responded publicly. The unconventional communication is seen as a step meant more for optics to set a positive mood in both states. On July 1, Naidu in his letter praised Revanth for his leadership skills and his work. Reminding him that it has been a decade since the bifurcation of united Andhra Pradesh, Naidu wrote, “There have been multiple discussions concerning issues arising from the Reorganization Act, which hold significant implications for the welfare and advancement of our states. It is imperative that we address these issues amicably with utmost diligence and resolve.” He proposed to meet at the Telangana CM’s residence on Saturday in Hyderabad.
Revanth also responded and posted it on X (formerly Twitter). The Telangana CM returned the favour through his words. “You have joined a very rare league of political leaders in independent India who have taken oath as a chief minister for a fourth time. I wish you the best for this term,” read the contents of the letter. He agreed to the meeting on the said date but proposed the venue as Mahatma Jyoti Rao Phule Praja Bhavan.
Babu and Revanth go a long way and share a good personal rapport. It was under Naidu’s leadership as TDP supremo that Revanth first contested as an MLA in 2009. He remained loyal to the party for the next half a decade, even taking up the post of TDP Telangana State President. He switched over to Congress after TDP almost became an obsolete entity post-bifurcation in 2014, after many TDP MLAs migrated to KCR’s party. Even then, Revanth has always been cordial to TDP and Naidu in his gestures and words all through these years. More recently, Revanth commented after Naidu’s victory that he now has to work harder and put in more hours to compete with Naidu. In this backdrop, the meeting raises expectations for resolving issues of distribution of government assets, clearing debts, and also river water allocations between the two states which are still pending.
“The issues of the two states are not dependent on the relations between the chief ministers. Chandrababu Naidu and Revanth Reddy represent the interests of their respective states. The major issue between the two states is that of river water distribution,” said former MLC and political analyst K. Nageshwar. “Both states should follow a give-and-take policy, but that is not possible as some political forces would be ready to provoke the public and vitiate the mood. The Centre should at least play a neutral role as an umpire, but they are also worried about political implications as they feel they will be branded as being biased by either of the states if they try to resolve the issues.”
Senior leaders from Telangana are overseeing the arrangements for July 6 at the venue, which is in a way symbolic of past political events. After KCR won power in 2014, his government accused and booked a case against Revanth (an MLA then) for trying to buy one of their legislators to influence MLC elections. The ruling party even accused then-CM Naidu of masterminding it, which led Naidu to move the administration to Vijayawada owing to the friction even when Hyderabad was the common capital for 10 years. Now, Naidu and Revanth will be meeting at the same property that was constructed as the camp office-cum-residence of KCR. In a way, it is a message to KCR by the two leaders, who feel they have been wronged by him.
Politically, the event carries weight. Will Naidu’s TDP, which is almost a dead horse in Telangana, be revived gradually with more visibility of Naidu in Telangana and goodwill gestures that can benefit both states? The meeting will have answers.
