All possibilities exist on Telangana, say analysts

Even as the UPA coordination committee and the Congress Working Committee are scheduled to meet tomorrow (Tuesday) to take a final call on Telangana statehood, political leaders and analysts still believe the situation is pregnant with all kinds of possibilities.

A section of  ministers, including a couple of MPs from the coastal Andhra region who met chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, said they were still hopeful of a final decision tilting in favour of united Andhra Pradesh.

"If the leaders of the Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the YSR Congress give letters of support in favour of united Andhra even on this day, I assure you that the state will remain united," T G Ventakesh, a senior minister in the state Cabinet, said, though in an apparent effort to politically counter the opposition of placing the blame for division on the ruling party.

Anantha Venkata Rami Reddy, an MP from Anantapur, one of  the two Rayalaseema districts talked of being added to the new 'State of Hyderabad', said the party leadership had still not decided in favour of division.

"A government statement that was made in Parliament in support of creation of Telangana in 2009 did not have the finality. How can one believe that a decision or a view taken by the CWC and the UPA coordination committee on the issue of statehood will be final?" questioned K Nageshwar, member of AP legislative council and a firm Telangana votary.  According to him, anything is possible till the action comes to speak for itself in relation to the creation of Telangana state.

For instance, the most talked about possibility of including the two Rayalaseema districts of Anantapur and Kurnool in the formation of the 'State of Hyderabad' may not even find support in Parliament as the Bharatiya Janata Party will be opposing any such move. Without the support of the main Opposition party it is not possible to get the Bill passed, analysts say.  

Among the other possibilities, Telangana state might come with quite a number of compromises if the Coastal Andhra businesses succeeds in getting protection for their interests in the new state, according to G Haragopal, political scientist and a well-known human rights activist. However, he completely brushed aside the idea of 'Rayala Telangana' as a possible reality. "Who is asking for combining the two Rayalaseema districts to form Telangana state? Maybe the leaders from Coastal Andhra are hoping to get rid of the Rayalaseema districts," he said.

For the last one month the Telugu media had been at its best in being hyperactive to tell its readers and viewers about the happenings surrounding the Congress core committee's consultations on the state leadership. On Monday, speculations were dominated by chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy's possible resignation if the Centre decides to divide the state.  The chief minister spent most of the day in the Secretariat meeting his cabinet colleagues and a couple of MPs as he was asked to be present in Delhi on Tuesday morning.